Choices and Consequences
by datexan
Summary: Tenchi makes a choice and there are some serious consequences that go along with it. His choice having been made has many consequences, as well as trouble. (Completed)
1. Choices and Consequences

Tenchi Muyo: Choices and consequences

I do not own Tenchi Muyo, or any of its characters or ideas, but I wish I did.  As for this story, it was written as a sort of what if, while I wait for OVA 3 and GXP to be released stateside.  I started on this after wondering, what if he actually did make a choice?  For those that have read the "True Tenchi Novels" that detail the backgrounds on the characters, I have not read those.  I guess you could say that this is an AU as I have made certain decisions on their backgrounds to fit my story.  And if the Character appear OOC, there is a good reason.

I want to send a very BIG THANKS out to Doug Dennis, Top Quark (Shadow Quark) and Chendzeea Li for helping me with this story.

Tenchi Muyo: Choices and consequences

Tenchi knew that when sparing with his grandfather he had to keep all of his attention on what he was doing.  However today he seemed to be having a lot more trouble doing that than normal.  Normally he could walk away from these lessons with only a few minor bruises and such, but on days like today, he'd be lucky if he could walk away at all. Ayeka and Ryoko, who were watching from the bushes, also wondered what shape he'd be in, but they kept quiet for now.  Ryoko knew she could teleport to him faster than Ayeka could run to him if he got hurt which would show that she cared more.  However, none of them could have guessed that today's lesson would not go the way any of them had thought it possibly could.

"Tenchi, you're getting sloppy," his grandfather scolded. "Something else on your mind?"

"Grandfather, you…" Tenchi started to say but stopped abruptly as a bokken hit his head.

"When training you will address me properly."

"Yes Sensei," He said bowing quickly.

"Where is your mind wandering?"

Shrugging he simply said, "The girls." The training stops as both relax their stances to talk about it.

Tenchi did not know that Ayeka and Ryoko were watching him again. This time they were not hiding behind the Log guardians, but from behind two large trees close enough for them to hear and see what was going on.  They listened intently when he mentioned them and Ayeka whispered to Ryoko, who was nearby, "I bet he has Tenchi say he loves me."

"You're on, but he loves me!" She replied trying not to yell, as she didn't want him to know they were nearby yet. Ayeka growls but hearing a voice again she quiets down.

"What about them?"

With a bowed head and slumped shoulders, Tenchi says quietly, "They want me to choose again, but it's not fair."

"And why not choose instead of stringing them along, or don't you have feelings for them."

Tenchi looks up slightly annoyed at his grandfathers' accusations; "Of course I have feelings for them. That's what makes it harder." He then adds in a softer voice, "I couldn't live without them." This surprises Ryoko as with her superb hearind she could hear  what he said, but Ayeka could not.

"Tenchi, you're shaking. Tell me what do you feel?" Katsuhito asked trying to calm the boy.

"I'm scared."

"Scared?" Katsuhito, Ryoko and Ayeka all say at once, though the two females voices are barely above a whisper.

"Yes, the way they fight all the time. I'm scared I'll lose one."  Tenchi looks up at his grandfather with tears brimming in his eyes.

"One? So you feel for more than one."  Tenchi just nods his head at his grandfathers question as Ayeka and Ryoko stare.   "Well then, what do you feel for Ryoko? Is it lust or desire?"

This made Ryoko a little upset, but she softened when she heard Tenchi speak "Anytime I'm around her I fell like… Like I belong, and I never want to loose her."

"Then why do you run away?"

He laughed though it didn't sound like he was being funny, "If I tell her, she'll flaunt it in front of Ayeka and it'll hurt her." Ayeka was hurt, and depressed that he was not making a choice to protect her feelings, but Ryoko was also hurt as well.  Ryoko's hurt stemmed from how Tenchi thought she would react, though sadly, she had to admit that he was right.

"Yes, choosing Ryoko would have, interesting, consequences.  So, you love her?"

"Yes."  He said it, he could barely believe it, but he said it.

Ryoko could barely believe it as well, and she was beaming!  "He loves me!" She said just barely above a whisper.  Though she wanted to scream it, her voice was stunned into silence partially by his admission and by the fact that he was holding off saying anything because of how he thought she would react.

"You should not string them along then, if your heart lies with one and not the other," Katsuhito reprimanded.

"But, I love her too." All of them looked at the boy with wide eyes. "I love them both, Ryoko and Ayeka.  If I ever lost them my life would be over."

"I think you are overstating that a little." If it had not been for the graveness in Tenchi's voice, his grandfather would have been laughing.

The two girls could not believe what he just said! He loved them both! "Every time they fight, I'm scared that I might loose one of them or both!  I'm scared sensei." The two girls noticed the tears welling up in his eyes and the realization that they are only making things worse on him hit them hard.

"What do you plan to do about it?"

"I don't know," he said looking back down at the grass. "I can't choose them both."

"And why not? My father has two wives."

Ryoko had a sudden sinking feeling; she knew where this was headed as did Ayeka. "But Earth doesn't recognize that type of thing."  Tenchi looked so sad and defeated that Ryoko herself wanted to cry, not over having heard that he loves her but that he is torn so much by this.

"Then why stay on Earth?"  All eyes turned to Katsuhito as he said that.

Again Tenchi laughs, this time he doesn't even attempt to hide his feelings, "Oh and what go to Jurai?" Ayeka was surprised at him, as he seemed so against it, but she didn't know why. Ryoko though did not want to go back there; it would be too painful.

His grandfather shrugs, "And why not?"

"Think about it," he said with his voice heavy on the sarcasm, "how would the people of Jurai feel about me coming there with not just Ayeka, but Ryoko?" Katsuhito hit Tenchi over the head showing his displeasure in his tone.  Holding his head Tenchi replied with an even worse attitude, "I heard what the Emperor said about Earthlings, he doesn't like them, much less Ryoko.  How can I force her to go back there? It'll start a war!"

Katsuhito was more than slightly annoyed at what his grandson was saying, "I think you are letting your imagination get away from you."

"You told Ayeka that the people would never accept you! So why would they accept me."  Anger was building in Tenchi's voice. "So you ran away and never looked back. And furthermore how could they…."

"ENOUGH!" He screamed slapping Tenchi. Katsuhito had never seen Tenchi so adamant about anything.  Nevertheless, when he had said that about running away it had hit a sore spot, and he had reacted not even realizing he had.  The slap however was much more than he intended, as he was still holding his bokken.

Ayeka and Ryoko had heard the exchange and had seen the wooden sword Katsuhito was holding hit Tenchi on the side of the head, and now he was lying motionless on the ground. Rushing to him, they began trying to get Tenchi to wake up while Katsuhito remained frozen in his position.

A sudden thought hit Ayeka, and she looked at Ryoko, "Take him to Washu."

"Right." She cradled the unmoving Tenchi in her arms and teleported down the stairs and into the house, without even realizing that Ayeka had just sent her away with Tenchi.

"Brother what happened?"

"He's right." His eyes and face had lost their gentleness; instead, they held an anger and coldness that she had never seen in him before.

"About what?"

He glared at her causing her to recoil from him. "They would never accept him, or her.  It would cause a war."

"No, it wouldn't!  We'll tell them the truth, she's not that bad she…"

"And since when have you defended her? And what good is the truth.  Tenchi told me how you attacked them without provocation, although you knew the Statue of Limitations had taken effect.  Your guardians even knew better."

She looked down in shame, as it was true.  "We can make then understand," she said meekly with her eyes downcast.

"Oh, and how?" His voice was becoming harsher and colder.

"I don't know, but if he loves us both we can make them understand," she looked up at him defiantly.

"How many will you kill to make them see your point?"

"What?!" She shrieked.

"If they don't understand how will you make them? And if they rebel against your rule like some did against father, how many will you kill to force them to understand?"

"People rebelled against him?"  It did not seem possible; that couldn't have happened.  Her mothers had never told her about that, 'could it be true?'

His voice softened slightly, "Yes, because mother was not of Jurai.  Many lives were lost before those that opposed her left Jurai.  She was not even given any power at that time; she was merely his wife.  How many will rebel against Tenchi?" Ayeka could not answer him, the truth hurt too much. "So you heard our conversation, so you know how he feels about you." She just nodded her head in shame though not over what Tenchi had said, but over eavesdropping. "Then you know he loves her too." Again, she just nodded.  "What do you think the people will do if an Earthling returns to Jurai to claim the throne with the very one that nearly destroyed them?"

"But that was a long time ago!"

"Did that make any difference to you?  Will you force him to choose between you and live with a man whose heart is so torn?  Can you force him to tear his heart out just so you'll be happy?"

Her face downcast, "No, that… that's not right."

"Then what do you suggest?  He cannot stay here and choose you both, and he cannot go there and choose you both."

"Then, we'll go away! All of us! To a place that will accept us, all three of us."

"And what of your responsibilities?  Will you turn your back on your people?"

Ayeka slapped him across the face. "You have no right to talk to me about that."

"You may be right." His voice returned to normal though this time it was his eyes that were downcast.  In his mind he couldn't believe that he had struck down Tenchi like that, nor could he believe how he had just talked to his sister.  Clearly, he knew that this was going to be a very touchy subject for them all.

Ayeka turned away from him and stormed off down the stairs.  But she could not get his questions out of her head. 

"Then what do you suggest?"

"I don't know…" She responded angrily.

"And what of your responsibilities?"

"I don't know…" Her voice lowered as she tried to think of an answer.

"Will you turn your back on your people?"

"I don't know…" Tears began falling down her face as he kept asking things she did not want to know the answers to.

"Will you force him to choose between you and live with a man whose heart is so torn?"

"I don't know…" Her voice failing and her answers coming much slower than before.

"Can you force him to tear his heart in two just so you will be happy?"

"I don't know…" This time her voice was near non-existent.

"No, I do know…" She turned to the side, purposefully went to the Space Tree Funaho, and sat there to think about what to do.  In her mind, she heard his questions repeatedly.

'Can you force him to tear his heart in two just so you will be happy?' He had asked, though she knew the answer now, "No, I can't." Again, his voice was heard in her mind, 'will you force him to choose between you and live with a man whose heart is so torn?' To which she replied "No, if it comes to it, I will leave, so he can be happy with at least one of us." The answers to those two were easy, but Tenchi had said that he did not want to loose either of them, so she had to think of something else.

In the lab, Ryoko and Washu had set Tenchi on a medical bed so the scientist could examine him. "What happened to him?  Did he get caught between you two again?"

"Not really…"

Washu looked up at her, "What do you mean?" Ryoko tried in vain to relay to Washu what had happened while the scientist checked him over, but she could not even begin to explain it all.  Finally out of frustration she opened her mind and let Washu see for herself.  "I see, so he chose you both."

"Yes…" Ryoko's eyes held a dreamy state for a moment as she remembered hearing that Tenchi loved her.  She then remembered what he had said about Ayeka and her mood soured slightly. "…He chose us both."

"I see, well then…" Washu continues examining Tenchi and is able to stabilize his condition.  "He had a nasty hit on the head; if it wasn't for you getting him so fast he might have had a serious problem."

"What… what kind of problem?"

"Possible brain damage, but the swelling seems to be going down before any permanent damage was done.  He will be out for a few days though." 

She said it with such a monotone and emotionless voice that Ryoko nearly decked her.  However, she held her anger in check for the moment, as he was not awake yet.  And despite her wanting to swat Washu for this, she had to let the scientist continue, for his sake.  Katsuhito was another matter though as she screamed, "DAMN HIM!  I'm not gonna let him kill Tenchi!"

"Whoa! Hold it!  Who are you talking about?" The eccentric scientist said while waving her arms about trying to get her daughters attention.

"Katsuhito, he hit my Tenchi after Tenchi said the old man ran away."

"Hum that doesn't sound like him," Washu said putting her finger to her chin.

"You calling me a liar?" She hissed back.

"No! I just don't understand." Washu went back to working on Tenchi again.  She didn't want to tell Ryoko that there is a possibility that he won't remember a thing.  The severity of the hit has a possibility of giving him amnesia.  Despite her trying to comfort her daughter, Ryoko would not leave him.  She stayed beside Tenchi for what seemed like hours before Ryo-Ohki and later Ayeka joined her.  Mihoshi and Sasami stayed outside the lab waiting to hear from them.

"How is he?" Ayeka asked when she entered the lab.  Washu had stepped outside to tell the others but Ayeka had to see for herself.  Plus there was something she had to do.

"He's sleeping now.  Washu's stopped the swelling, but he was in bad shape." 

Ryoko did not look or act like she had in any of their previous encounters which only furthered Ayeka's need to talk to her, but how? "I see," she said timidly walking over towards the bed Tenchi was in.

Several minutes of absolute silence pass before both look up and say in unison, "We need to talk."

"You first," they again said at once earning a growl from each of them in frustration.

Ayeka holds up her hand in front of her signaling Ryoko to wait a moment.  For once Ryoko actually let her get away with this.  "Ryoko, about what he said today," she began softly.

"Yea, about that," Ryoko said quietly as well.

"I, I can't force this on him, but I have responsibilities on Jurai."

The ex-pirate looked at her a little nervously, "Does that mean you're leaving?"

"I might. Tenchi will not be accepted on Jurai."

"What do you mean?"

"Yosho…" She began only to have Ryoko growled at the name.  She continued though, as this was very important, "…ran because he was not accepted.  Funaho also is barely accepted.  If Tenchi were to attempt to claim the throne, it would send Jurai into a Civil War that may destroy the empire."

"So why are you leaving?"

"Are you saying you want me to stay?"

"Um, no…" She didn't sound convincing though, not even to herself.

"I see.  Well, I was raised to take the throne… and… 'Can I force him to tear his heart in two just so I'll be happy?'"

"What?"

"Sorry, um, I will be leaving so he can stay here… and be happy." Ayeka looked down in utter defeat and sadness seemed etched in her every feature, even Ryoko felt badly for what was happening.

Ryoko notices that Ayeka is near tears and she remembers what Tenchi said earlier.  'The way they fight all the time. I'm scared I'll lose one,' he had said.  'I love them both, Ryoko and Ayeka.  If I ever lost them my life would be over. Every time they fight, I am scared that I might loose one of them or both!  I'm scared sensei.' Ryoko realizes that in order for Tenchi to be happy, truly happy, then Ayeka will need to stay, but she's spent so long fighting the princess over him.

Ryoko then says something that she had never thought she would say, "No, I… I won't let you go…"

"What?" Ayeka asked and stared at her dumbfounded and utterly shocked.

"Tenchi said that he's scared to loose even one of us, and…" her voice breaks up as she admits it, "…if you left, he wouldn't be happy." This took a lot on Ryoko's part to admit, but she loves Tenchi, and wants him to be happy, even if that means sharing him with Ayeka.  The princess looks down at the realization as well, if she stays it will just hurt him, if she goes it will hurt him more.

"Then we are back where we started.  Neither of us can go, but we both can't stay."

"And we can't go to Jurai.  I… can't go back…" Her body convulses at the images in her mind of the last time she was on Jurai.

"I know," Ayeka says in way that Ryoko finds strangely comforting.

Both girls take positions on either side of Tenchi. One took his right hand, while the other his left, but neither had any qualms about the other. Washu watched the interaction between them, and even now, as the two of them sit on either side of him, holding his hands, they are not fighting over it.  "If I didn't know better, I'd say they were friends."

Washu creates a portal and steps through it to talk to Katsuhito. The old Shinto priest had been sitting in his office sipping tea, though it was not helping him.  Instead, he sat brooding over how he had hit his grandson. "There you are." Katsuhito looked up from the table, but remained silent. "Hum, I see you're busy.  I came to talk about Tenchi." His eyes returned to looking down at the table, unsure as to what he should say, and he knew that she was the one that took care of him. "I see, does this mean that you are responsible for his condition?" Again he remained silent, but he nodded his head. "Oh-Kay, well you did quite a number on him, he's gonna have a headache for weeks, but nothing too serious." The cup he was holding shattered as his whole body trembled. "You know I like having my guinea pig in my lab, but not like this."

"I'm sorry," he nearly whispered.

"Oh so now you talk.  What the hell happened!?"

"I have never hit him like that before.  Never.  I just…" he looked so lost and confused that she could not help but feel sorry for him.

"So it is true, Ryoko told me that you hit him because he said you ran away."

He jumped up from his spot on the floor.  "I had to!"  Washu was intrigued about this new side of him showing.  He had always been very calm before, why had things suddenly changed?  "People were already uneasy that the only male heir to the throne didn't have pure Juraian blood.  Sentiment was already against me.  So, when I chased her off the planet I didn't care if I lived or died.  That's how I beat her; my fear of death was gone." She looked at him strangely, as this made no sense as to why he had done that. For once, confusion on the scientist's face when he actually looked at her during his tirade.

"My father was not far away from naming me heir, but the people began to complain.  Several systems even threatened to leave. But Ryoko's arrival gave me a way out. After I left, Funaho told me that the systems returned to the Empire when it was revealed that I was missing.  So, I couldn't go back."

Though she looked confused, she actually did follow his logic, albeit slowly, "So you left everything to keep everyone happy?"

"Yes. Now Tenchi will destroy what I tried to save."

"But that was no reason to hit him!"

"I know! I know, and I'm sorry." He sat back down heavily, and defeated.

She thought about it for a moment, "What if he stayed here? He doesn't have to go to Jurai does he?"

"He doesn't 'have' to go anywhere.  Ayeka will return though as she is next in line."

"So, what's the problem?" She shrugged and looked at him trying to understand.

The old man grins slightly, "He wants them both, but he can't have them both, not here, and certainly not there."

"Why not let him go somewhere else then?"

"And what about Jurai?  They need another ruler; father wants to step down.  Ayeka would never turn her back on her people. And the people would never accept Tenchi, much less Ryoko."

Washu began to see the problem, "Hum, I see your point."

The two sat there thinking and brooding about what could be done for Tenchi, Ayeka and Ryoko.  They knew that he loved them both, but could the girls be happy with it? Washu knew from what she had seen in the lab that they were already forming a friendship over this but would that be enough?  And what could be done about their future?  The easy answer was to have Sasami become the next ruler and Ayeka could go to another planet with Ryoko and Tenchi and be happy.  However, both knew that Ayeka was not the type to just run away from her people permanently.  She may be fickle and a number of other things, but she has always talked of going back, and with him.  But he would not return without Ryoko and that would be dangerous.

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In space near the planet Jurai a secret meeting was being held, one that could seriously affect those on Earth.  Two men have met in secret. Shrouded in shadows they talk quietly hoping to avoid the attention of others.  "How's the construction?" The first man asked.

"Almost complete, we are ahead of schedule right now and it should be ready in just a few days."

"Excellent, then you found all the missing pieces?"

"It was not easy but we have found them all. Some we had to um… acquire… from the Galaxy police."

"Did you find 'the parts'?"

"Yes, it was difficult to locate some of them but we have been able to get the blueprints and enough of the parts to rebuild it. One was severed and we were unable to repair it, but the other two were in near perfect condition."

"That's good, and what of the Emperor? Does he or his family know of this?"

"No, while the Emperor was busy dealing with his wayward daughters on that planet we were able to salvage the parts from both ships."

"Good, good.  Once completed I want it moved to the Sol system and hide it in the rings of the planet they call Saturn.  They will not be able to discover it till it's too late."

"Yes sir!"

While the first man leaves, a voice is heard from behind the second one. "Good work.  No one must know of my involvement."

"Thank you," he says bowing and then leaves.

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Several days pass as Tenchi sleeps in Washu's lab. Her machines keep a constant watch over his heart rate, breathing, brain activity and any other thing Washu could come up with.  Ayeka and Ryoko have scarcely left his side during the time he has been unconscious.

"Ryoko, its time for dinner," Ayeka calls as she nears the Pirate who was anxiously watching Tenchi for any movement or sign of life other than his breathing.

"Ok," she calls back then moves from a chair beside him.  Over the past few days, one or both of them had always been beside him. When mealtime would come, like today, one would leave the lab to go eat, then return to allow the other one to go eat.

"Any change?" She asked hopefully.

"Not yet, but Washu thinks he should wake up anytime.  How are the others?"

"Sasami still won't talk to brother, and Mihoshi… she's just herself." The princess hated to admit it but of all of them, Mihoshi seemed to be the one, who was least affected. At least on the outside, as the blonde still watched her shows and was just as ditsy as ever.

"Yea I bet; Ryo-Ohki's been kinda quiet lately."

"Really? I would've thought she'd ask you to get her some carrots or something."  She tried to laugh, although the thought of who normally gathered the carrots currently unmoving stifled her humor.

"SHHHH! Don't remind her!" Ryoko said a little louder than she wanted to as she jumped up trying to hush the princess while looking around wildly making sure Ryo-Ohki was not close by.  Ayeka couldn't help it seeing Ryoko act like that just seemed funny, and so she laughed. "Hay! What's so funny?" The way Ryoko was acting combined with her confused and angry expression only served to make the princess laugh even more. She laughed so hard she nearly fell over.

"Could you hold down the noise?" Both turn around nervously but very excited over the voice they just heard.

"Tenchi?!" They both cried in a mix of fear, confusion and joy.

"Yes … my head hurts…"

"Oh Tenchi! We've missed you!" Both girls proceeded to hug him, oblivious to the fact that they had to slightly hug each other to hug him.

"Is this heaven?" He asked cautiously.

"Huh?" Ryoko asked perplexed.

"Why do you say that?" Ayeka asked, as she too was confused.

Though his arms hurt from their extended non-use, he placed them around the girls to hug them both. "I just thought that in order to get you two to be nice to each other we would have to be in heaven." He offered a weak grin as they just blushed slightly. "What happened anyway?"

Washu had come in when her sensors picked up something unusual from him and she was there to see the girls hugging him and each other.  She was very happy in that not only was he finally awake but he seemed to remember them, which was good.  "Well Tenchi I see you're finally awake, tell me how do you feel?"

The two girls were startled to hear Washu's voice but they were so happy to have him back that they didn't let go of him. He answered weakly, "Like a truck hit me."

"I'm not surprised," she said snickering a little.  She was relieved to see that he was ok, and that he didn't seem to have any permanent problems.

"How long have I been out?  A year or two?"

"What makes you think that?" Washu looked at him strangely, but he just gestured to the two holding on to him and not fighting each other off.  "Ah yes, well you've actually only been unconscious for … almost a week I guess."

"Only a week huh?" He said softly, "I should've had him do this to me a long time ago."

"Watch it bub. I heard that." Ryoko put in. Ayeka and Washu just snickered as he looked at them nervously.

"Lord Tenchi, we need to have a talk."

"About?" He looked at her worriedly.

"Actually, I need to sit in on this too as I have a few ideas." Washu stated that in a way that left little room for arguments.

Ryoko however tried to think of at least one to keep her away, "What kind of ideas could you have about this!"

"Well I am the Number One Scientific Genius in the Universe, so I think I have a few ideas." All of them rolled their eyes at this comment.  "But for now you need your rest," she said pointing to him, "so this will have to wait for later."

"Actually I want to talk to someone…" He said nervously.

"And who is that?" Washu inquired. Though all three of them looked at him expectantly.

"I need to talk to Tsunami… I've…"

"Tsunami!" They all nearly yelled; they were surprised that of all people he wanted to talk to her.

He began "I've had a strange dream… but it felt more real than a dream… I… I'm…" His whole body began to tremble.

Ayeka had not seen him like this before, "You're what?"

Ryoko though realized it; "He's scared…"

Washu looked at her curiously then him, "…about what?"

"As I said, it was a dream, but it felt…" He did not even realize that he still had his arms around Ryoko and Ayeka but they felt him pull them closer as his eyes closed tightly. It was obvious to all of them that this was not one of those good dreams and he was scared of something happening.  And that something was bad.

 While he held onto the two girls, Washu left the lab to find Sasami, 'Hopefully she will know how to reach Tsunami.'  She did not have to go far as the little girl was in the kitchen absently stirring something.  It was obvious she was not thinking about what she was doing.  "Hay Sasami?"  The girl did not respond.  "Oh Sasami?"  Washu began waving her arms around and finally got her attention.

"Huh? Oh hello Little Washu… Um…" she looked down at the bowl.  "Oh no! I must be late.  You're out of your lab and dinner's still not ready!"

If it had not been for what she just witnessed in the lab and then here she would have laughed, but Washu was not about to just pass off both things as funny.  "No, you're not late.  I'm early."

"Huh? Really, why'd you come out so early?"

Incensed she retorted, "What, can't I come out more often?"

"Well… you don't normally." Sasami said meekly.

The little scientist was bout to launch into a tirade about this when she felt Ryoko asking mentally, 'Have you found Tsunami?  Tenchi's… um… still upset.'

'I just found Sasami. She was just staring off into space.  Something is wrong here.'  Diverting her attention back to Sasami she asked, "Sasami I need to you to come into my lab for a little bit."

"But I can't! I've got to finish cooking, I'm late already!"

"That can wait; Tenchi needs to talk to Tsunami."

"Why?"

"He had a disturbing dream, at least that's all he'll say."  She was slightly annoyed that of all people he wanted to talk to Tsunami and not to her, but she will find out what's wrong soon enough she was sure of it.

"What's so strange about that?"

"Well nothing unless you consider the fact that he's been holding onto Ryoko and Ayeka for the past five minutes and he's not let got of them yet and he's shaking and crying."

"He's what!"  She all but shouted forcing Washu to cover her ears.

"Here I'll show you." Bringing up her floating keyboard, she typed a few buttons and a screen appeared where Tenchi was sitting in a bed in the lab, with Ryoko and Ayeka on either side of him.  He still had his arms around them as they too had an arm around him trying to comfort him.  Both of them were surprised to see both Ayeka and Ryoko comforting him and holding him without fighting.  For now, he had stopped trembling.

"What… what do I do?" the little princess asked quietly not sure what could have caused this to happen.

"He asked to talk to Tsunami; do you know how to contact her?"  The little girl nodded and the two of them went to the lab, leaving dinner to be fixed later.

In the lab, the scene had not changed much.  Now Ayeka and Ryoko were sitting on either side of him, actually sitting on the bed with him!  What really surprised the little princess and Washu was that the two girls were not fighting.  In fact, it looked like they were both holding him and each other!  Ayeka was telling him that Tsunami would be there soon, while Ryoko was whispering something to him trying to soothe him.  Her tone did not have a trace of her normal seductive nature.

As they approached they could hear what she was saying, "Shhh, Tenchi it'll be ok.  We're both right here, we're here for you."

Ayeka added to what the pirate was saying, "Yes, we're both here, we're here for you, just relax.  Tsunami will be here soon, don't worry."

Having seen the two holding on to him through Washu's screen in the kitchen had not prepared for this; it was beyond what she had thought.  Tenchi seemed to be hanging onto them as if his or their life depended on it.  Sasami did not want to admit it but she was getting scared.  "Tenchi," she asked quietly, not quite sure she wanted to find out what was wrong.  She like everyone else had known Tenchi was hurt, but this was new and not comforting though it looked like it should be.

"Sasami!" Ayeka cried out surprised that she was here.

"Miss Washu came and got me saying that… that Tenchi wasted to talk to Tsunami."

"Yes, I need to talk to her." His voice sounded hollow and sad even though he was happy to have the girls here and not fighting over him.

"Do not burden Sasami with this Tenchi."  A voice caused all to look to the side where a ghostly image of Tsunami stood.

"Tsunami!  What's wrong with Tenchi?" Ryoko demanded.

"Yes, I am curious too." Ayeka added trying to sound polite but still very nervous.

Tsunami walked to in front of Tenchi and placed her palm on his forehead to see his thoughts.  She smiled at first then the images turned very dark and disturbing. Those watching could see her face reacting to something that seemed to terrify her.  She finally let out a gasp as she pulled her hand away from him as if it were burned.  Her eyes were wide open and Ayeka was surprised to see that Tsunami was scared.  "How… how long…. The dreams… how long have you had them?"

"I'm not sure when they first started," he said looking at the floor not daring to look at anyone else.

"WHAT! What about his dreams!"  Needless to say, Ryoko was not taking any of this very well.

"Well, you see…." The goddess began.

"I killed," he said softly.

"So what's wrong with that? You've done it before."

Had this been on any other subject he might have laughed or at least been able to handle it.  "No, not just one, millions."

"Actually Tenchi the population of Jurai is in the billions." Ayeka's head snapped up at Tsunami's mention of Jurai.  Ryoko unconsciously took a step back away from them.

Ayeka was scared, she knew where this was going, but she hoped she didn't. "What… what do you mean…"

"Tenchi…" Ryoko's voice sounded like she was scared or nervous, "why would you go there?"

"I wish I knew." He said hanging his head.  All other eyes went to Tsunami.

"All of your dreams seem jumbled and confused, but at the end…." Her voice trailed off.

"He destroys Jurai?" Washu put in, to which the goddess nodded.

"But, but, but why?" Ayeka stuttered out, she could not understand why he would just go there and destroy her home, her family, everything!

Tsunami just shook her head sadly, "That is not revealed in his dreams, but I sense that they are becoming more common and lasting longer right?"

He nodded his head and Ryoko spoke up, "Is that why you haven't been sleeping very well?"  Everyone looked over at her.  "I've been watching him, as he sleeps… it, it calms my fears.  But he's been tossing and turning more… I, I didn't know what to do."

Ayeka looked at her curiously, "Did you do anything?"

"Not really…"

"Ryoko, what did you do?"  Washu was worried what the answer might be; it could be anything from trying to seduce him to joining her mind with his.

"I," Ryoko blushed as everyone was looking at her; "I would sing to him… Sometimes he seemed to calm down… when he didn't I'd…." She looked up to see everyone starting at her with their mouths hanging open, even Ayeka.  "Um, what?"

"That was you… I heard someone singing softly and it helped some nights, but… I kept thinking about the cave when I heard it."

"Your grandmother and mother used to sing that to you when you were a child.  When you would pass by the cave with them, they would be singing it.  It helped me… as it seemed to help you."  Ryoko was beyond nervous, she had just exposed to everyone that she has been scared before and that she gets nervous now. And not only that, but that she sings him to sleep as well.  Baring her soul and fears to others was something that she hated to do, but she was forced into it this time.

"Ryoko," she turned back to Tenchi and was at first scared to look him in the eyes.  "Thank you, for watching over me."  Tenchi had been so surprised over it all and genuinely touched that he knew he had to do something, and as he said that to her he saw her smile and in her eyes, he could see a happiness that they had not held in a long time.  He reached up and stroked her cheek gently and as everyone watched, he pulled her closer to him.  For a moment he forgot about anyone else being in the room, instead he was focused on her.  She had been there for him when he did not even know it, trying to help and not taking advantage of him.  As she had said what she did, he was amazed that she did it, and that she would confess it before others.  Before he himself knew what he had done, or was doing, he had pulled her close to him and kissed her, not on the forehead, or even on the cheek, but on the lips.

The feeling was very exciting to them both, to be able to express the long hidden feelings on love that they shared.  Slowly her arms wrapped around his neck as he held her close.  Washu, Sasami, and Tsunami smiled on as Ayeka looked on with a decidedly different reaction.

Inside Ayeka she felt jealously, hate, fear, envy and joy.  It was such a wide range she didn't know if she should laugh, cry or congratulate them.  She wanted him; wanted him to love her, but even though he had said he loved her, she still wished she could have been Ryoko at that moment.  She had never known that he was having trouble sleeping or that Ryoko had been in his room singing him to sleep as he was having these nightmares.  If she had known, she would have done something to help.  She didn't know what but she would have.  As she watched them pull away, she was surprised to see that Ryoko had tears in her eyes, but not from being sad or hurt but from being happy.

When his eyes turned from Ryoko to the rest of those watching he blushed a little but said no apologies, though no one expected one.  Then his gaze turned to Ayeka and she looked down ashamed.  Ashamed for not knowing, not helping, and for being jealous.  She did not know of a way to help; she had never been the one that anyone really had gone to for that kind of thing.  Instead, she had been the one to always go to others.  Ayeka suddenly felt like he could see through her, see through her skin and tell that she felt ashamed for not knowing or helping.

"Ayeka," he called to her and she looked up, but still not into his eyes.  "Are you angry with me?"

Her head snapped up, "Oh no Lord Tenchi."  He then caught her gaze and she looked at him, in the eyes this time.  He was not ashamed of what he did, and he looked to be worried, possibly about her and she felt even worse because of it.

He held up a hand to her and she slowly took it and he pulled her closer to the edge of the bed he was still sitting on.  "I need to tell you," he looked between Ryoko and Ayeka for a moment, "both, something very important."

"Tenchi," Ryoko interrupted.  "We know.  We heard you talking to Katsuhito before."

He nodded, "Then you know, but I have to say it… to both of you."  He paused a moment and Ayeka felt herself preparing for the worst though she knew what he would say.  "Ayeka, you have been someone whom I have admired and cared for, for a long time though I didn't know how to show it.  Only recently did I actually realize how deeply I felt.  I, I don't truly think my life would be complete without you in it, but not as a spectator or a friend.  I love you," She gasped as he said it and tears flooded her eyes. "It has taken me some time to acknowledge it and I guess even longer to act on it. I'm sorry, for hurting you and putting you through that."  Tenchi then did something that he had only done before once,  he reached up to her cheek, brushed away a tear that had fallen and pulled the princess into a loving kiss.

Ryoko watched from beside him and she was still feeling the aftereffects of him finally expressing his feelings for her. The kiss had been everything she had hoped it would be and more, especially since he had kissed her, and she had not forced him into it.  Actually at the time she had not even thought about that, as she was too preoccupied with what was happening.  Now as she watched, he had told Ayeka that he loved her and was now kissing the princess just as he had kissed her.  She smiled as she knew he loved her too, not from what he had said before but from the kiss, 'there is no way to kiss someone like that and not love them,' she thought.  One thing surprised her though; she didn't feel jealousy, envy or even anger at seeing him kissing the princess, though she didn't know why.  'Shouldn't I be upset? Shouldn't I beat her to a pulp for kissing him?'  But the anger and resentment just was not there.

When he pulled away from Ayeka, she sat heavily on the bed beside him with stars in her eyes.  He chuckled lightly as he turned to his space pirate who was looking at him in wonder and love.  Smiling he touched her face again, "I guess I have already made my feelings know for you.  Since the day we met at my school, I have felt something for you.  At first I… I didn't think it was good, but the more I got to know you the more I fell."  He sighed wistfully; "When you were kidnapped I had to bring you back, not just because I had to, but because I wanted to.  When you were taken from me again I was ashamed of myself for not realized you were in trouble, but in both cases I got to hold you in my arms, if even for a short time and… and it was like we belonged.  I have wanted to hold you again like that many times, to tell you how I felt."  He shook his head sadly and looked at Ayeka, what he was about to say may hurt them both, so he grabbed both of their hands in his.  "But I was scared to act.  I was scared that if I came forward about my feelings that Ayeka might be hurt or try to hurt you, and then when I realized that I cared for you both I was scared even more.  Choosing one would mean loosing the other… and… I just…."  Tears were falling from his eyes as he was trying to form the words. "I never want to loose either of you.  I love you Ryoko.  To me you have never been the demon or killer that others have tried to make you out to be.  You were wild, playful and energetic, though I came to understand that you have never been given a chance to just live or even know how to live with others."

Ayeka suddenly looked down again, shame and sorrow filled her as she realized that she had been the one that had tried to point out every one of her old rival's faults.  Instinctively she tried to pull her hand back, but he held it tightly.  Slowly she began to cry as he talked to Ryoko.  Ryoko had noticed Ayeka trying to pull away from them, she knew why, and she too felt a bit guilty, as she had not made things easy on Tenchi, especially with her attacks on the princess.

"I want you two to understand.  I love you both, and I can't loose either one of you.  This contest that you two think you're in, it's over."  He paused and smiled weakly, "The only contest or challenge I have is for you both."  This got their attention away from trying to pull away from him.  "I will no longer push either one of you away, but that also means that I don't want you to fight or argue over me.  Can you two get along, and live together, for me?"

The two girls swallowed heavily and then looked at each other.  Already this week they had not fought once and have even split up time with him without fighting.  The only way they could describe it was, a friendship, was growing between them.  However, what he was saying was that they would be around each other more.  Ryoko looked back at him, "You… you said we can't fight over you… but what if we disagree about other things?"  She smiled at him and he could not help but grin.

"I don't guess saying that I want all fights to end will be possible, at least not yet."  Ryoko only chuckled as Ayeka gasped. "As I said, you two will no longer be fighting over me, as for other things I would like you to work them out, peacefully."

"Damn."  This time Ayeka laughed, as Ryoko looked on a little disappointed that she no longer had someone to fight.  Then a thought occurred to her, "Oh Tenchi," she purred sweetly; "since you know that I've been helping you sleep at night do I have your permission to join you?"

He gulped and Ayeka looked startled, "Miss Ryoko!  That is highly inappropriate!"

"Oh you can join us too…" she said just as sweetly as before though Tenchi got the feeling that Ryoko was trying to get Ayeka on her side to convince him of it.

The thing neither of them was expecting was to have Ayeka suddenly laughing. They both looked at her confused as she tried to calm herself.  "I must be crazy for thinking this but you are saying that a princess and a pirate will be sharing the same bed!"  The others who had been watching this laughed as well.  Not at it's absurdity, but because that is exactly what she was saying.

"Well you can sleep on the floor while we take the bed." Ryoko retorted though she was getting slightly upset that everyone was laughing.  Everyone that is, but her and Tenchi.  She looked at him and he seemed to be thinking about something, something very serious until he finally shrugged.

"She won't have to take the floor."  All laughter and breathing stopped as he spoke and they waited for what he was going to say next.  Ryoko's eyes were nearly as big as saucers as she looked at him while Ayeka looked confused.  "I guess it will only be a matter of time anyway, but… I would not force either of you out of my…" he gulped, "bed."

"REALLY!?" Ryoko nearly screamed and he just nodded.

"Though I would ask you to wear something, I'm not ready for… Um, you know yet.  I want us to wait."

Ryoko looked a little sad, but her saying, "damn" just did not seem to convey that she was all that upset. 

Ayeka though looked very perplexed.  "You mean, that we can join you… and you would not force us out?"

"Yes," he then thought of something, "can you two share not only my love but me?"  He asked in a hushed whisper so that only they could hear him, at least he thought.

Both nodded yes when Washu suddenly spoke up for the first time in what seemed like ages to her, but watching this had been fun.  "Ya know Tenchi you might want to talk to your dad about that… something tells me that your little bed will need to be made bigger."

"Ah come on mom!" Ryoko called out sounding as if she had just been denied what she always wanted.

The suddenness of being called mom, by her and without her usual sarcasm touched Washu and she began to tear up.  Tsunami noticed this and touched her shoulder.  "I… I didn't say you couldn't… you will just need to talk to him.  Though I doubt he will say anything against it, he's been trying to get Tenchi to do this for a long time."

Something happened then that surprised everyone, though they enjoyed it.  Ryoko suddenly disappeared and reappeared with her arms around Washu. "Thanks mom.  Now, about that bigger bed…" She started as those around her laughed.

"Tenchi," a voice called turning everyone's attention to the Goddess Tsunami.  "The dreams may well get worse before they get better.  It may be advisable to have both Ayeka and Ryoko with you in case they do get worse.  However, in doing this you are pledging your life to them both.  Are you sure about this?"

"Huh! What do you mean?"

"She is a princess and is not allowed to be in the same bed as someone that is not her intended.  By inviting her to join you, you are thereby pledging yourself to her."  He gulped and looked at Ayeka, who looked away nervously.

"So you are saying that I would be engaged to her then?"

"Yes, but it comes with great responsibility.  Will you return to Jurai to claim the throne?  With her as your bride and your birthright, it is your right."

He suddenly lost his smile and his body visibly slumped, as did Ryoko's.  "My right, but would they accept an Earthling as Emperor or would they accept Ryoko as a Queen."  Everyone gasped and looked at him, none more than Ryoko.  He looked at Ayeka then Ryoko. "I can't loose either of you.  If I am pledging myself to one, then I will do the same to the other."

"So you intend on going to Jurai?"  Sasami asked.

"I will have to talk to both of them about it."  Ryoko suddenly had tears forming in her eyes though she did not start crying.  He knew that this was a big step for them all.  Especially Ryoko who has lived with people hating her.

"Ya know Tenchi, this is what I wanted to talk to you about as well."  Washu said diverting his attention away from Ryoko for a minute.  "Since you're talking about marrying them both, that sort of thing is not allowed on Earth.  If you stay here, you will still have to choose one.  But!" He could almost hear the fanfare as she drew everyone's attention to her.  "But Jurai is not the only planet to allow multiple marriages!"

"But… but what about Jurai?" Ayeka asked though she did not seem as interested in going there as she had in the past.

"That I can take care of," answered Tsunami as she got a grin on her face.

"What do you mean?" Tenchi asked.

"Actually Tenchi there is something you need to do to help me."  She got a sly grin and a light formed in her hands.  The light extended out about a foot and then some more before forming a shape.  Tenchi recognized the shape immediately as his sword.  It then appeared where the light had been and he saw the two remaining gems in it and he understood.

Reaching out for it Ryoko gasped as he bowed his head and pointed it at her.  "Tenchi, you don't… I mean you…."

She suddenly stopped as she heard him say, "I trust you, with my life and my heart."  With the words said the two remaining gems disappeared from the sword and re-appeared on her wrist and neck.  The result was something that they had not thought she would do. She began crying and threw herself at him.

As she cried he rubbed her back, though the force of the impact had knocked him down and he was lying on his back.  Ayeka put her hand on Ryoko's back and began rubbing it trying to sooth her new friend, and co-fiancée.

"Tsunami," Ayeka said, "I don't see how this is going to help Jurai?"

"Wait and see what happens. I am sorry my child but you were never intended for the one your mothers picked out for you."  She then turned to Sasami; "Do you trust me?"  The little princess just nodded her head.  Ayeka was reeling in the revelation that she had been given.  Not only that she was confused as to what the goddess was meaning.  "Good, you will need to make something special tonight.  To celebrate their engagement."  This brought grins and blushes from Tenchi, Ryoko and Ayeka.  "One will be joining the party late as he will not want to come, but he will be led here by me."

"Ok!" The little princess jumped up and started racing for the door.

"Why did you tell her she had to cook?" Washu asked, as the other three were still tongue-tied.

"She loves to cook for all of you, and she was wanting to make something special anyway, this only gave her an excuse to do what which she already wanted.  Besides I will be helping her."  Tsunami suddenly disappeared from the lab leaving only four remaining.  Tenchi, Ryoko and Ayeka were still sitting on the bed with Washu standing beside them wondering what to do before she remembered that Tenchi needed a new bed.

"Well I have to get busy, I have to make your room bigger if I'm going to put a bigger bed in it!" She cackled as she walked away.

"She's crazy." Ayeka said softly.

"Yea, but I guess I'm gonna have to get used to calling her mom instead of Little Washu."  Ryoko's head snapped up to look at Tenchi as he said that.  "That is if you will still want me… to… um…."  He stopped and moved off the bed sitting Ryoko on the edge beside Ayeka.  Ayeka knew what he was doing, but Ryoko seemed lost.  "I love you both and it would be a great honor if you, both, would… um… would you marry me?"  He looked up at them almost pleading them to say yes.

"Of course!" Ayeka nearly shouted and she lunged at him.

"You couldn't get rid of me! Of course I will!" Added Ryoko before she too lunged at him.  He hugged them both fiercely and kissed them both which was no easy task.

He turned with them and headed for the door when Ryoko suddenly stopped; "Since we'll be married does that mean you'll have sex with us at the same time?"  Tenchi suddenly started sputtering as he tried to think up an answer while Ayeka gasped and looked at her amazed before turning very red.  Ryoko just continued to laugh and for once, she was looking forward to the future.

To be continued, I mean it… I really will continue it… I promise…

I could always use help with pre-reading the story before the next chapter is posted. If you would like to help please go   
I have the next several chapters posted there for my beta readers to help me on.


	2. And More Consequences

Tenchi Muyo: Choices and consequences, and more consequences

I do not own Tenchi Muyo, or any of its characters or ideas, but I wish I did.  As for this story, it was written as a sort of what if, while I wait for OVA 3 and GXP to be released stateside.  I started on this after wondering, what if he actually did make a choice?  For those that have read the "True Tenchi Novels" that detail the backgrounds on the characters, I have not read those.  I guess you could say that this is an AU as I have made certain decisions on their backgrounds to fit my story.  And if the Character appear OOC, there is a good reason.

Thanks: Thanks to those that have helped me with this; Chendzeea, Top Quark, Swifty and Doug.  Though Doug doesn't realize it, I got the idea for a part of this from one of his stories (Family and Friends).

From Last time:

He turned with them and headed for the door when Ryoko suddenly stopped; "Since we'll be married does that mean you'll have sex with us at the same time?"  Tenchi suddenly started sputtering as he tried to think up an answer while Ayeka gasped and looked at her amazed before turning very red.  Ryoko just continued to laugh and for once, she was looking forward to the future.

And now: Tenchi Muyo: Choices and consequences, and more consequences

As soon as the trio stepped outside the lab Nobuyuki, Mihoshi and Ryo-Ohki assaulted them with questions. He was quite surprised and the questions that were asked were coming too fast to answer. "Tenchi, you're OK! What happened?"  "How are you feeling?"  "Sasami said you've chosen is that true?" and many more, this nearly made him wish that he was back in the lab. Finally he got everyone calmed down; well at least enough to stop asking questions.

"Everyone, I have an announcement," he began as his father, the cabbit and Mihoshi backed up to give him room.  "I've asked for Ryoko and Ayeka to both marry me."

As soon as he finished, he could see a strange look on his fathers' face, but before he could ask; his father began prancing around. "That's my boy! He didn't choose just one; he got two! Oh my wife in heaven you should see how our boy has grown!" Tenchi looked at his father as if he was crazy, but then again, he realized, that what he was doing was in itself, crazy.  Ryo-Ohki looked happy and she was hugging Ryoko and Ayeka; he guessed that she was congratulating them.  The surprise came from Mihoshi.

She was looking at him, her eyes filling with tears, but not from joy.  "Ten… chi… you… asked… them?  But… destiny… you were… supposed to…" She continued to mumble the words and he had a hard time understanding at first over his fathers ranting, but it soon dawned on him that she was hurt.

"Mihoshi," he called softly as he stepped closer to her.

"You were… they knew… how could you?" She screamed and ran out the door leaving everyone dazed at her outburst.

"Oh boy," he said as he hung his head.  "I guess I need to go talk to her."

Nobuyuki had stopped jumping around when Mihoshi began her tirade, and now he stood staring at the door, as was everyone else.  He felt like a heel and though, 'I shouldn't have said that.' This was not something that he knew how to handle, much less what to say, but if there was one thing he did know, it was that Tenchi wasn't the one to talk to her.  "Tenchi, you stay here."  All eyes turned to him, especially his son's.  "If you were to talk to her now it would only make things worse."

"I guess I should go then," stated Ayeka as she moved towards the door.

"No Ayeka."  She turned to see Ryoko shaking her head.  "We were in the onsen when she said that he was her destiny." 

Taking a big breath, Ayeka looked around the room. "That's true; if anyone is to go, then it should be Sasami or Nobuyuki."

"I can't go," the little princess said from the doorway, "Tsunami told me I had to stay here."

All eyes turned to Nobuyuki.  He really didn't want to go, but it looked like it was up to him.  "Ok, I'll go," he said boldly; however, it took a few steps towards the door for him to get up the courage to walk through it.  'Why me?  I've never been good talking to women, even with Achika. Oh how I wish you were here.'

Making his way outside he looked around and was able to see Mihoshi sitting on the docks. When he moved closer, he could see her doing something he had never seen her do before.  She was crying, not the wailing hysterics that she'd do when she didn't get to watch her cartoons. It was much more somber, so unlike her.  He thought about going back inside saying that he couldn't do it, but there was no one else available.  Slowly his feet carried him over to her, and his legs made him sit down beside her.  "Um… Mi…Mihoshi, wha… what…" he hesitated before saying what's wrong, he knew what was wrong, but he didn't know how to start this.  "Want to talk about it?"  He knew that was a lame attempt but nothing else would come to mind.

"He… he's…" she started and he handed her a tissue from a box that had suddenly appeared beside him. 

Looking back at the house, he saw Washu at the door and she waved to him. 'I should've known,' he thought.  After she wiped her eyes, he asked her, "is that a little better?"

"Do… do you believe in destiny?" She asked him; her voice sounded weak and sad.

"I used to," he sighed and thought of his wife.

"Why? What changed?"

Tears formed in his eyes, "I used to think that destiny brought Achika to me and that we would be together forever…" Grabbing some of the tissues he tried in vain to dry his eyes.  "I loved her more than anyone, but we were only together for a short time before Tenchi was born… then she got sick."

"What happened?"

"She never got better.  Tenchi was still very young when she died."

"I'm sorry…" she bowed her head and regretted asking anything now.

"No, it's not your fault.  I used to think that destiny brought us together, but after she died I… I guess I forgot about it."  He rubbed his forehead and wondered how could he help her if he was like this?  "You know, my father-in-law would sometimes say that destiny was a cruel mistress.  She might hand you what you want only to take it away and give you what you needed."

"Oh," Mihoshi looked up at him and thought, actually thought about what he said.

He looked back at the house to see Tenchi, Ryoko, Ayeka and Washu watching him from a window and a thought struck him, "If it wasn't for Tenchi releasing Ryoko, then Ayeka would have never showed up.  Without Ayeka & Ryoko's fighting you wouldn't be here either.  And without you then Washu would have never been saved."

"I… I guess."

He thought about what he had just said, 'maybe I still believe in destiny….'  A few of Katsuhito's old saying came through his mind but nothing seemed to really fit their problem.  Giving up he just decided to ask her what she believed.  "What do you think about destiny?"

"My dad and grandfather used to tell me stories about destiny and love…" she looked up to the stars as she thought of all those wonderful stories they used to tell her.  "I always thought… whoever saved me was to be my destiny."  She then grabbed a tissue as she tried to stop her tears, "Be he's not!"

Placing an arm around her as he tried to soothe her, "Mihoshi… I'm not the best one to talk to about destiny, Katsuhito is.  But if you were waiting for anyone to save you, what were they supposed to save you from?"  Shaking his head, he knew he had asked a stupid question; he almost missed the fat that Mihoshi had stopped crying.  Actually she had stopped everything and was holding her breath as if she had just been frozen in place.

Patting her back, she suddenly took a breath, "I… I don't know."

"Maybe Tenchi was only a part of your destiny, not your destiny?" He tried hard to make that make sense to her, but normally she never could have more than three sentences before she was lost to any conversation, however this time she really seemed to be coherent through everything.

"So he might not be my destiny, but a part of my destiny?"  She looked up at him and he nodded hoping that she truly understood this.  When she suddenly smiled, he felt that she understood.  "Oh thank you!" She squealed and gave him a crushing hug before running back to the house.

She had run up to the house and he could hear her congratulating Tenchi, Ryoko, and Ayeka in her usual manner with no hint whatsoever that she had just been crying.  Leaning back slightly using his arms to hold him up, he looked towards the stars.  "I think I still believe," he told the sky.  "You left me so long ago… I still miss you, but maybe you never left."  He took a ragged breath and looked at the water's reflection of the sky. "I thought we were destined to be together… I thought you'd never leave me."  He looked into the water and instead of seeing the sky; he saw a hill overlooking an empty field.

He didn't need to guess what field this was, as this memory was one of his most precious ones.  A dark haired boy sat on the edge of the hill drawing in a book when an angel appeared behind him.  To him she always was an angel, a vision of loveliness, his Kiyone, his wife.  In this memory, it was before they were married but he still cherished it.  The water rippled slightly causing the image to change to his wedding day.  This too was one of his most cherished memories; even though he was so nervous, he nearly fainted several times.  A chuckle escaped him as he watched it although his eyes were overflowing with tears.

A slight wind blew and the water changed once more, this time he saw himself sitting on the same dock as a younger man with Kiyone beside him.  "I miss you still," he said reaching a hand out to the image of her in the water."

"Nobuyuki?" A feminine voice called and the water returned to reflecting the stars.

"Huh?" He could see behind him now was Washu, and not his wife.  "I'm sorry…" he said trying to regain his voice and composure.

"What are you doing out here? I... we, thought you would be coming back in with Mihoshi?"

"I…" he lost his voice and he drew in a ragged breath.  "I was just reliving the past."

Washu hated thinking of the past, but something compelled her to sit beside him.  "Bad memories?"

"It depends," he smiled and after looking up at the stars again, he looked at her.  "Have you ever had someone that you thought you were destined to be with, only to loose them…"

Washu began to tear up as he mentioned that, "Yes."  She visibly shook as she remembered her husband.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"No, its ok," she took a deep breath then told him, "I was married once.  I used to have a husband and a child… but I lost them both."  She looked at him and she could see that he wanted to ask more, but was unsure if he should.  "I had no history, no past, no parents and he was from a noble family."  She began to cry as he handed her a tissue.  "We were happy… for a time.  But his family kept pressuring him to leave me because I was just a commoner and he and his family were of such high stature. I thought our love could overcome it, but he finally caved in.  H-he… he left me, and took my son.  Just because of social status."

"I'm sorry."

"He never got to call me mom…  I never got to see him take his first steps… he was just a baby when I lost him. Oh my baby, how I miss you so much!"  She began sobbing harder and he placed an arm around her as the sobs racked her body.  The two of them spent some time outside on the docks talking and reliving memories.  Some painful, some happy, and some time spent just weeping over the past.

Ryoko kept an eye on her mother although she hated to admit the scientist was her mom. With Washu reliving her past, Ryoko too was shown her mother's memories.  Slowly she began to understand the pain that her mom had been put through and she actually started feeling bad for how she had treated her mom. 

While Ryoko thought about her mom, Tenchi was worried about his father, although Nobuyuki was not ever going to win a father of the year award; he was still Tenchi's father.  After a few hours Mihoshi went to bed as did Sasami and Ryo-Ohki.  He stayed up longer with his fiancées before heading to bed as well.  "This night sure has been filled with surprises," he told the girls as they headed upstairs.

"Yes, it was interesting…" Ayeka said as she remembered their surprise visitor.

While Nobuyuki and Washu were outside everyone else was inside celebrating the engagement.  It was shortly after Sasami had brought in dinner that they received a surprise visitor.  Sasami was not surprised in the least, but Ayeka and Ryoko had different reactions.  As soon as he stepped into the room Ryoko hissed at him and brought up an energy blade.  Ayeka though, nearly fainted.

"What do you want here?" Ryoko had sneered at him.  His mere presence brought back painful memories and an old fear.  She had thought when he appeared that he was there to fight her and to put her back in the cave.  And she'd be damned if she were going to be locked up again after Tenchi had finally proposed.

He held up a hand to quiet her and to show that he was unarmed when Ayeka screamed out, "Brother!"

Yosho stood before them all, looking ashamed and nervous for one having lived so many years.  "I'm not here to fight."

Things were very tense for a moment before Tsunami appeared again and explained things.  "Ryoko, your gems were providing Funaho with energy, and also providing him with the power for a disguise.  Now that the gems have been returned, Funaho has had to drop his disguise."

"Tenchi, you…" the now young Yosho looked at his grandson in surprise.

"Yes, I trust her with my life."

"Very well," he then took a seat, "you might as well know then that Funaho's power will diminish and I will as well."

"What! No you can have them back!" Ryoko screeched in a way that surprised everyone including her, but despite her hatred of him, she knew Tenchi would be hurt to loose his grandfather.

"No, it is past my time.  I have lived for long enough," he said shaking his head.

"Yosho," Tsunami said getting their attention. "I have been working with Funaho and she will be ready to leave the Earth in the next year."

"Wha-What?"  If it had not been for the seriousness Tenchi would have laughed at his grandfathers' stammer.

"Funaho has been storing up energy from Ryoko's gems for years and she is ready to leave the Earth, Tenchi is my chosen champion, but he cannot do that and be Emperor."

"You don't mean?"  He stared at her wide-eyed.

"Yes I do.  It is time that Azusa stepped down.  He is weary and a new emperor is needed.  You are to be the next Emperor."

"But, I can't leave the Earth… I promised that I wouldn't go back to Jurai."

Tenchi, Ayeka, Ryoko and Mihoshi were speechless as they watched this event unfolding with interest.  Tsunami then dropped a bombshell on him. "You will not be alone, but Ayeka was never intended to be your wife.  Some things were done without my approval, so I had to step in.  Now, most everything has been set right."

"Wh-who, who will join me as queen then?"  He seemed anxious, but after she looked at him sternly his eyes shot open wide, and he nearly passed out.  "I-I see…."  He looked down then turned towards Tenchi, and Ayeka.  "I-I'm sorry for deceiving you." His voice may have been even, but his eyes betrayed that he was hurting inside.

"Brother… I…" Ayeka had not a clue what to say.  Inside she was angry, sad, and confused.  Angry that he had lied to her and pushed her off onto Tenchi.  Not only that but, in her heart she felt sad for him and the obvious pain he seemed to be going through.  However, she was confused to why Tsunami had chosen now to reveal this and why she was forcing him to go back and not Tenchi.  Even though she was confused, she did find solace in that she would not have to deal with being the Empress, but she did wonder who would go with him.

Yosho did not wait for her to finish her thoughts nor did he wait for Tenchi to say anything, his grandson was looking at him strangely.  "I must return to the shrine.  I don't have much time left," he turned around to leave them, but Sasami stopped him long enough to hand him some of what she had made especially for him.  As he left the house, he heard noises coming from behind the house.  Investigating he saw Washu and Nobuyuki sitting together drinking sake and talking about the past.  For a moment contemplated joining them, but thought better of it and slipped away quietly.

"You, know Washuuuu…" Nobuyuki slurred as he had obviously had enough sake for the night.  The two of them had decided early on, that it is much more fun to be drunk when reliving the past.

"Whatz that?"  She answered in an equally drunken state.

"If you wern't sho yung, I'd ask you out fer a drink.  Just tell the kidz that we're out fer a drink."

She giggled from beside him and she let herself change into her older form, which from just the sight nearly caused him to fall off the dock.  "Is thish better…" she purred as she tried to keep him from falling over.

"Mush…" He took a drink.  "Miss Washuuu would you like to go out fer a drink this weekend?"

"I'd be happy to," she said trying to bat her eyes at him.

He smiled and placed an arm around her, "You know what?"

"What?"

"I can't get up." He laughed hysterically a moment before falling over asleep there on the dock.

"Nobuy… Nobuy wake up…" she nudged him a few times but his only response was a loud snore.  "Hum," she stood up slowly and took a deep breath.  As she exhaled she regained her senses and had a portal appear below him dropping him on his bed. Grinning she created a portal beneath her as well and dropped into the bed beside him. She promptly laid herself down next to him and fell into slumber.  For some reason the thought of going back into her lab tonight wasn't that appealing.

Ryoko just grinned as she felt her mothers' contentment passing over their link; she was still apprehensive after seeing Yosho again, but with the feeling being passed to her from her mom, and the feeling of Tenchi's arm around her made the ex pirate seem less nervous; at least for a time.  But now, she stood in his room fidgeting nervously.  'What do I wear? What do I do?' were just the beginnings of hundreds of questions that were flying through her mind as Tenchi left the room to get ready for bed. 

Just shortly, before he left the room he had a short discussion about the sleeping arrangements with Ayeka and Ryoko before Ayeka had left to put Sasami to bed, and before he had left to clean up.

"I don't think we should start, um… sleeping together tonight."  Ayeka had said reddening as she tried to keep herself composed.

"Why not?" Ryoko was a bit upset as after what had happened she was now being told that she shouldn't stay with him.

"Well, his bed is not big enough for all of us and what about Sasami? She would get lonely sleeping in there by herself."  She knew it was a bad excuse, but she did not want to say she was nervous about sleeping anywhere near Tenchi.

"You can stay with Sasami tonight, and I'll stay with Tenchi," the pirate proclaimed happily.

"But it's not fair that you stay and I don't."

"Wait!" Tenchi yelped and then stepped between them before his room was destroyed.  "Look, um… I meant what I said.  If Ryoko wants to stay with me I won't object," he tried to sound calm and in control while on the inside he was scared as to what would happen later.  "I think Sasami will be fine in her room, but you're right…" he looked over at his bed and he felt dread pass over him.  His bed was way too small for two much less three, so for all of them to share it they would have to literally, sleep on top of him.

Ayeka followed his look and she reddened in embarrassment as she imagined all three of them on his little bed.  She would have to practically be on top of him for the three of them to have room.  Ryoko too thought of this and she was not blushing but grinning at the thought of actually getting to sleep with him.  "What I will do if you want…" he had said, "is put some sheets on the floor for us to sleep on. I don't really have a cushion big enough but it will do for a night."

"Sounds good to me," Ryoko said quickly, as she didn't care where they slept as long as it was with him.

Ayeka thought about it, and then smiled. "Very well, after I get Sasami tucked in I will join you on the floor."  She then left the room excited about being with him, though she was not sure about Sasami with the number of nightmares she's been having over the years.  Finally, she decided on removing the barrier around Tenchi's door and making sure her sister knew that she could join them if she wanted to.  Tenchi got their makeshift bed ready then went to take his shower as Ayeka talked to Sasami and got them both ready for bed.  She was happy that Ryo-Ohki would be staying with her sister so she would not be completely alone.

But with everyone out of the room but Ryoko for a few moments it left her feeling worried.  'What do I wear? What do I do?'  When the door opened she spun around and was surprised to see Ayeka, dressed in a modest nightgown that covered her from the shoulders to her ankles.

"Ryoko, why haven't you changed, Tenchi will be back soon."

"I… well…" she tried to think of what to tell her, but the truth is she had never really had a nightgown, or at least she didn't remember having one.

"Well?" Ayeka asked growing impatient.

"I don't have one!" Ryoko hissed at her annoyed that she had to say it.

"You don't? Then what do you sleep in?"

"I don't like to sleep…" she said quietly, as her anger was spent and she was starting to feel uncomfortable.

"But you sleep a lot during the day."

Ryoko half laughed though it didn't sound like she was being funny.  "It's because I can't sleep at night."  She hated admitting her problems, especially to Ayeka, but the words sputtered out of her mouth, and she didn't really feel like hiding it right now.

"Why not?"  The pirate looked up at the princess as she said this and Ryoko gave her a hard look that Ayeka suddenly understood.  "Oh my, I'm sorry."  If it had not been for her ability to float, Ryoko would have been on the floor.  After all the time that she had known the princess she had never known her to apologize; much less to her.  Ayeka possibly did not realize she had said it either, but she was for once actually feeling bad for the pirate.  "You, you mean that all this time… you've not been able to sleep at night?  Because of that?"

The elder princess was treated to a rare sight as Ryoko began to cry.  The pirate just nodded her head and told her, "I can't… I see them… their faces… I-I can still hear them."  She began bawling even harder than before and Ayeka was at a loss of what to do.  Once before she had intentionally made Ryoko cry, and until today that had been the only time she had seen Ryoko cry. After the week that they had spent together in the lab watching over Tenchi a number of things had changed between them, and before she even knew she had done it, Ayeka had crossed the floor to the trembling pirate and embraced her.

"It'll be ok…" she said soothingly as she held the crying pirate.  With trembling hands Ryoko returned the embrace and the two stood there for several moments. 

They were like this when Tenchi stepped back into his room.  He smiled at them and made no noise or indication he had returned.  Instead, he watched as Ayeka, the First Princess of Jurai became just Ayeka and in her arms, she held another.  This other, was the dreaded Space Pirate Ryoko, the very one that had nearly destroyed Jurai. But now, they were just Ayeka and Ryoko, seemingly best of friends and the loves of his life.  Walking up beside them, he quietly wrapped his arms around them and tried to hold them close.

However as soon as they felt his arms both Ayeka and Ryoko jumped away from each other as if scalded by the touch.  "Um, we weren't…" Ryoko started but stopped as she tried to think of an excuse.

"That's right, she was… um having trouble with the zipper," Ayeka supplied.

Tenchi displayed a grin and nodded at them as they looked like they had just been caught doing something bad.  "I see, um… well it looks like you're ready… for bed… to go to sleep… um… Ayeka…" He rubbed the back of his neck and soon found himself very nervous.  He then looked at Ryoko and noticed she was still wearing her dress from before.  "Um, were you going to change?"

"Oh, well you see I… I don't…" She paused as she tried to think of an excuse and she was just about to say she would sleep elsewhere when Ayeka spoke up.

"… She doesn't…" Ayeka started then added, "She doesn't have anything appropriate for tonight…"

"Well you don't have to wear…" he paused as he turned red as his mind thought of what he was about to say.  "Well you can wear what ever you want, nothing really special."

"Tenchi, you see I…" Ryoko started again, and she seemed unable to bring herself to tell him that she had nothing.

"You see Lord Tenchi; she was just about to… to… borrow one of mine!"  Right after she said it she regretted it.  'There's no way that she'd wear one of mine! Ha, like I'd give her one,' she thought, but then she noticed his smile.  Just his smile alone seemed to make her feel different inside, to feel warm and happy.

She was brought out of her silence by Ryoko, "You'd… you'd do that?"  Sighing Ayeka nodded her head and then turned to go with Ryoko floating behind her.  They entered the princesses' room quietly hoping to not wake Sasami. Ayeka began to look through her clothes, she knew of nothing that would not only look good on Ryoko, but also something that she did not want back.  Just because they were getting along better did not mean she wanted to share everything she had with the pirate.

A voice suddenly caused them to turn around, "Ayeka, Ryoko," Tsunami called.

"Um, yes?" Ryoko asked timidly as she was not sure whether she had done anything wrong.

"I have something special for you both this night," she said then held out her hands and two orbs of light appeared and began to stretch into the glowing form of two gowns.  As the light died away, both looked at the shimmering gowns in rapt awe.

"It's lovely…" Ayeka said and then looked down at her own gown.  She had picked this one out as she had thought it was her best one, but the one she saw before her made hers look plain.

"Wow," Ryoko exclaimed, quickly whisked away her clothes, and slipped the gown on.  "It feels…" she felt at a loss on how to describe it.  All of her clothes were comfortable, some more so than others, but this was amazing!

"Why… why are you giving us these?" Ayeka asked still unsure what to make of things.

"I give them as a reward."

"For what?" Ryoko jumped up floating and spinning around just enjoying the feeling of the material.

"You two have grown much in the past few days, but in the near future the two of you will be the ones that could reshape the universe.  For better, or worse.  Your ability to work together could help, or destroy many."

"Gee thanks…" muttered Ryoko as she floated to the floor, then slumped her shoulders.

Ayeka looked back and forth at them in confusion, "Us? We will decide the future?"

"No, the decision is not yours to make," Ryoko perked up as Tsunami spoke.  "But you will influence it.  Ayeka," the goddess said turning to her.  "You have had a life that many dream about.  You are a princess, you grew up with servants waiting on you and everything that you have wanted you have received."  She then looked to Ryoko; "You have had a much harder life.  With the pain of your past and to this moment owning nothing." 

Ayeka looked at Ryoko wide-eyed, 'Owning nothing? How can that be?'  Ryoko though was looking down as if ashamed.

"You have no need to feel ashamed anymore.  That which your heart has wanted has been given, though not in the way you wished.  However I wanted your first gift, to be something special."  She gestured towards the gown Ryoko was wearing again.  "The gift of a goddess, the first thing you own; the first of many things.  Take care of them well."

"I will," she said near tears as she hugged the gown closer to her.  It meant much more to her now and she felt very good inside.

"But, the gems… she owns them…" Ayeka said bewildered.  All that she was experiencing tonight was taking a toll on her.

"The gems belong to another, though Ryoko has been entrusted with their safe keeping until the time is right."  The goddess explained with a hint of sadness.

"You mean they're not mine?"  Ryoko asked looking at them carefully. 

Tsunami shook her head; "They still call to their owner, though the time for them to be reunited is not right.  You will have them for a while longer."  Tsunami looked at Sasami and smiled, "She is happy at the moment, I hope she can stay that way."  Looking back at the two she smiled one last time, "Good night Princesses of Jurai, your prince awaits," and with that, she was gone.

As soon as she said princesses, Ayeka wanted to shriek, "PRINCESSES!" However she found that her voice seemed to fail her for a moment.

Ryoko though did not catch what the goddess had said and she turned to Ayeka who was still holding the new gown in her hands.  "Aren't you going to change?" Ayeka did not respond and that's when she noticed the princess' wide-eye look.  "Um, Ayeka?"  She waved her hand in front of her and called to her several times before she blinked her eyes.

"Huh?"

"I said, aren't you going to change?"

"Oh," she hurriedly changed though she kept thinking about what Tsunami had said and she didn't like it.  'If he marries us both, she'll be a princess too.  Not of royal blood, but by law she will be one.  How can this be happening?'  As she slipped the new gown over her head though a strange thing happened.  All of her anger, loathing and resentment seemed to flow out of her as the gown cascaded down her body and into its rightful place on her.  It seemed perfect, in not only how it fit, but also the smoothness and how it felt against her. All of this just forced all thoughts out of her mind other than how wonderful she felt.  "It's, amazing…" she said as she smoothed it out though no wrinkles were there.

"I know; it's like a dream." Ryoko spun around floating up slightly.  "Well ready to go?"

Ayeka felt of the fabric once more and she was at a loss as to what it was made of, but she hoped she could get more like this.  "Yes, I think I am."  The two then left the room leaving the youngest princess and Ryo-Ohki, just as asleep as when they had first entered.  In silence, the two went back to Tenchi's room, both marveling at how the gowns felt as they moved.  They were both so caught up in their own thoughts that they had completely forgotten about anything else that had happened to them today.

Arriving at Tenchi's room, they saw him leaning over and fixing up a place for them to sleep on the floor with him.  Ayeka cleared her throat prompting him to turn around and he nearly fell over from the sight of them.  Both seemed to be glowing, not like a light, but an internal glow that seemed to shine from their eyes.  "Wow…" he breathed as she looked at them.

"You like it?" Ryoko asked as she spun around for him, still floating in the air slightly.

"Wow…" he said as he looked at Ryoko then Ayeka, as both blushed slightly.  Tenchi had first thought he had just seen two angels appear before him as he looked at his loves.  Though the gowns were pretty, he was more focused on the radiating faces of two most beautiful women he'd ever seen.

The three of them just stood there looking at each other and then wondering 'what now'?  Tenchi was blushing at the thought of asking them to join him in bed and of course he was worried about how to even ask such a thing. Ayeka too was wondering what to do, she had never been in a situation like this. She was standing in a male's room expecting to lie down with him, it was simply confusing as to what to do, what to say, and more importantly how to lie beside him?  Should she touch him? Should she just lie there?

Ryoko though after a few moments of this awkward silence realized something, 'He's not saying anything or moving?'  She began to wonder what they should do as she really didn't want to stand here all night, and she really was getting tired.  However tired she was though she was still excited about finally being able to sleep with him, not above him, or just in the same room, but with him in bed.  'Maybe I can even get some sleep tonight.'  Looking at her to companions, she realized that Ayeka was not going to say anything, as she was too busy looking nervous. She knew better than to expect Tenchi to say something so she decided it was time for bed. 

Disappearing from beside Ayeka, she appeared beside Tenchi and the two of them fell into the bed as Ayeka looked on confused and disappointed. "Miss Ryoko!" She said slightly annoyed though she found she could not stay angry for some reason.

"R-R-Ryoko!" Tenchi stammered out in confusion, but as she settled herself beside him on the floor, he could not help but smile as she did the very thing he could not think of how to say.  "Good night my pirate," he said to her as he gave her a slight hug.

"Good night my Tenchi," Ryoko said to him as she snuggled into his embrace on his right side.

Looking up from the floor at Ayeka, he held out his other arm towards her and they both blushed but Ayeka understood he was inviting her to join them.  Smiling she moved onto to floor beside him and tentatively she laid herself down beside, and on him like Ryoko had done.  As soon as she was beside him, he gave her a slight hug as well saying, "Good night my princess."

Of course, this caused her to blush as she told him, "Good night Tenchi."

The three of them lay there on the floor and Tenchi could not help but smile as he thought of the future with them.  As he thought of the future, he watched as the covers lifted up slowly and moved towards their heads effectively covering them up.  He knew only Ryoko had the ability to do this so he gave her another hug of thanks, as he had no idea how he would be able to reach the covers with his arms pinned down.  It did not take any of them long to fall asleep though each one of them had thought that they wouldn't get any rest.  Ryoko was the one to fall asleep the fastest though, as she was finally comfortable and in his arms.  Even though she had to share, there didn't seem to be any lack of comfort.

As the three of them slept, two ghostly figures looked on smiling.  One of the figures was Tsunami, the goddess of Jurai.  She looked over the three and smiled, "For now they are happy, I hope they can stay that way."  The other figure, this one was feminine in stance, though she had no real body like Tsunami did, but the goddess understood her.  Tsunami looked at her and smiled, "No, I guess you do not need to watch over them anymore.  They will have each other."  She looked sad and contemplative as the other figure looked at the goddess with unspoken questions.  "Yes," she sighed, "things will be hard for them, but if they can trust each other they will make it."  Tsunami laughed at the others unspoken comment. "Yes I saw how they fought before, but I think that they can work together when needed."

The two left that room and moved to Nobuyuki's room where he slept with his arm around Washu, who was cuddled up against him.  The two both thought the same thing, "Yes, they look happy together.  I didn't plan this, but I think their shared hurts may help them heal finally."

As the second one made another comment only heard by goddess ears Tsunami turned towards her. "I can arrange that, but it will not be for long." She paused for a moment looking back at the two sleeping on the bed.  "What will you tell him?"  Tsunami listened nodding her head slightly.  "Very well, and I think you're right.  He does not need to be watched so closely anymore."  The goddess smiled and the two left to prepare.

To be continued, I mean it… I really will continue it… I promise… I wrote this one didn't I….

I could always use help with pre-reading the story before the next chapter is posted. If you would like to help please go   
I have the next several chapters posted there for my beta readers to help me on.


	3. Choices, Consequences and the Morning Af...

Tenchi Muyo: Choices, consequences, and the morning after.

I do not own Tenchi Muyo, or any of its characters or ideas, but I wish I did.  As for this story, it was written as a sort of what if, while I wait for OVA 3 and GXP to be released stateside.  I started on this after wondering, what if he actually did make a choice?  For those that have read the "True Tenchi Novels" that detail the backgrounds on the characters, I have not read those.  I guess you could say that this is an AU as I have made certain decisions on their backgrounds to fit my story.  And if the Character appear OOC, there is a good reason.

I want to send a very BIG THANKS out to Doug Dennis, Top Quark (Shadow Quark) and Chendzeea Li for helping me with this story. THANKS go out to Katherine and Swifty514 for helping me eliminate my bad grammar. :)

From Last time:

The three of them lay there on the floor and Tenchi could not help but smile as he thought of the future with them.  As he thought of the future, he watched as the covers lifted up slowly and moved towards their heads effectively covering them up.  He knew only Ryoko had the ability to do this so he gave her another hug of thanks, as he had no idea how he would be able to reach the covers with his arms pinned down.  It did not take any of them long to fall asleep though each one of them had thought that they wouldn't get any rest.  Ryoko was the one to fall asleep the fastest though, as she was finally comfortable and in his arms.  Even though she had to share, there didn't seem to be any lack of comfort.

As the three of them slept, two ghostly figures looked on smiling.  One of the figures was Tsunami, the goddess of Jurai.  She looked over the three and smiled, "For now they are happy, I hope they can stay that way."  The other figure, this one was feminine in stance, though she had no real body like Tsunami did, but the goddess understood her.  Tsunami looked at her and smiled, "No, I guess you do not need to watch over them anymore.  They will have each other."  She looked sad and contemplative as the other figure looked at the goddess with unspoken questions.  "Yes," she sighed, "things will be hard for them, but if they can trust each other they will make it."  Tsunami laughed at the others unspoken comment. "Yes I saw how they fought before, but I think that they can work together when needed."

And now: Tenchi Muyo: Choices, consequences, and the morning after.

As with all mornings, Sasami was the first to wakeup and she began her daily ritual of fixing breakfast for her family with all the vigor of one doing their most favorite thing.  Ryo-Ohki, as usual was slow to wakeup.  However, when she did, she took a moment to look in on Ryoko.  She was pleasantly surprised to find Ryoko still asleep and still in his arms.  Having a mental link to Ryoko was both a good and bad thing at times, at nights, it was the worst as whenever Ryoko would have a nightmare then she would suffer through the trauma as well. Amazingly, last night was calm and peaceful. It was almost enough to make her think that her mistress had not slept, but she knew that was not the case.  Her mistress had slept, and slept soundly.

Exiting the room, she made her way downstairs and changed into her child form so that she could help Sasami with breakfast while occasionally trying to sneak away with a carrot or two.  As usual, the little princess was amazingly able to keep her from taking even a slice of a carrot.  It was not long before Mihoshi bounced down the stairs and turned on the TV to watch some of the morning cartoons before breakfast.  Sasami sighed as she realized that so far, this morning had started out just like every other morning.  If it was to be a normal morning she knew in five minutes Tenchi would wake up and scream, then Ryoko could be heard laughing maniacally, and finally Ayeka would scream and the mass destruction for the day would begin.

However those five minutes came and went with no screaming.  Then five more passed, and then five more with still no screaming or yelling.  The quietness was getting to Sasami and she looked back at Ryo-Ohki, only to discover the cabbit had sneaked a carrot while she was listening for any indication that today would be like all the others.  "Ryo-Ohki!"

Upstairs the three had started to wake up, but they all refused to move.  Ryoko felt better than she ever had.  Not only had she actually slept through the night, but she also she didn't have any nightmares.  There were no remembrances of her past and she felt safe.  She couldn't help but smile as she lay there with her head nestled against him.  She had been awake for maybe 10 minutes just enjoying just laying there with his arm around her.  Ryoko didn't know exactly how long she's been awake, as that would mean she would have to move to look at the clock.  And so she just laid there, happy, and content.

Ayeka had woken up as well, but had not been awake for nearly half as long as Ryoko.  Sleeping on the floor was definitely not one of her favored places to spend the night, at least until she remembered that Tenchi was with her, and that he was still holding her.  She let out a sigh of contentment, and opened her eyes, to which she immediately regretted her decision.  'What a disgusting sight to see in the morning,' she thought when her eyes cleared and focused on the demon. She then shut her eyes again trying to block out the image of the pirate.  When she opened her eyes again, she saw Ryoko, but this time she noticed that something was amiss.  The pirate no longer looked menacing, but gentle and surprisingly peaceful. As she became more conscious and aware of her surroundings she realized that Tenchi's hand that had been on her shoulder as they went to sleep was no longer there.  Instead, she soon discovered it was resting on her hip, and her hand was resting on his chest. 'Oh my!' she thought then moved her fingers slightly feeling him underneath her fingertips.

Moving her fingers around on his chest lightly caused him to stir slightly and his hand moved on her hip slightly, and though she did not notice, his other hand moved slightly to hold Ryoko as well.  It felt good to have him holding her like this, and she wished that it would never end.  With a renewed smile she closed her eyes again and just enjoyed being held by him.

Unfortunately, all good things must end, and for all of them it happened all too soon.  "Tenchi! Ayeka! Ryoko!" they heard Mihoshi call from the other side of the door.

Ayeka was going to answer when she heard Tenchi's voice, "Yes Mihoshi?"  Both Ayeka and Ryoko opened their eyes to see that he was wide-awake, and it looked like he had been awake for quite some time as well.

"Sasami says breakfast is ready."

"Ok we'll be out in a moment."  He said again and lifted his hands up to the girls' shoulders.  "Time to get up," he whispered to them.

"Mmmm," Ryoko murmured while she slowly brought herself to sitting position, a yawn making its way to her mouth.

"Tenchi, how long have you been awake?" Ayeka asked surprised.  She had thought he was still asleep, but he sounded very awake.

As he sat up he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "Well, for a while… I guess… I couldn't really see the clock."

"Oh," she then looked around nervously.  She knew that he had proposed to them and that Tsunami said it was ok for them to be together. Nevertheless, she did not think that he was awake when she had felt of his chest like she had.

"Well, I'm hungry, and after last night I feel great!" Ryoko proclaimed before jumping up into the air, then swooping down at them.  She grabbed Ayeka around the waist and Tenchi around the neck and proceeded to kiss him deeply.  For a moment, he thought he was melting; only to realize that he was in fact melting, or phasing through the floor.  Ryoko pulled them through the floor and although Ryoko had pulled Ayeka through a wall at the hot springs, it had been some time ago and the feeling was still very unsettling to the princess.

They landed on the floor gently just moments later. Ryoko released Tenchi's lips, and he looked dazed for a moment causing Ryoko to giggle as she dashed off towards the kitchen.  He looked at himself, then at Ayeka and realized that they were both still in their nightclothes, but from the commotion in the kitchen it was obvious that Ryoko was too.  "Oh wow Ryoko!" They could hear Sasami and Mihoshi asking, "That's a great gown! Where'd you get it?"

Shrugging his shoulders he looked to Ayeka and he could see she was blushing, 'I wonder why,' he thought then realized that she usually only did that when thinking of him, or doing something with him.   Reaching out he touched her face tenderly; as he bent his head slowly towards her face, he kissed her with the same passion as he kissed Ryoko just moments ago.  Pulling away he whispered, "Morning Ayeka."

She smiled in a state of pure delirium as he escorted her to the table where Ryoko soon joined them as did Mihoshi, Ryo-Ohki, and then Sasami. They ate breakfast in relative silence and Ryoko for once was not trying to stuff herself.  In short, Tenchi was enjoying a calm and very peaceful breakfast.  His loves would occasionally look at him and wink or just smile, which would cause him to feel contented.  'Nothing can ruin this day,' he thought.

At least he thought that until a loud voice rang out, "AHHHHHH!!!!!"  Everyone was on his or her feet in an instant and looking around for the source when the voice was heard again, "NO!"

"Tenchi, what the hell was that?" yelled Ryoko as she looked around.

"I'm not…" He began but was cut off by the voice.

"STOP!  DON'T DO THAT!"

"Dad!"  He hollered and then rushed for his fathers' room.

He and the others arrived at the door just in time to hear another voice, this one feminine, "Nobuyuki!  Stop screaming."

"Mom?" Ryoko looked shocked to hear Washu's voice Nobuyuki's room.

"NO!  STOP!"  They heard him yell again.

"Um, should we go in there?" Ayeka asked worriedly.  He sounded like he was being tortured and knowing Washu, they could easily picture her having strapped him down for some hideous experiment.

"I… I don't know," Tenchi said confused and he reached for the door handle several times only to draw it back and stare at the door.

"NOBUYUKI!  Come on, stop that." Washu said again, causing the others to look and wonder.

"NO! Stop…" His voice seemed to be fading, as his throat was near raw from the sheer volume of the screams.

"Nobuyuki, I said stop!"  They then heard a loud slap and all of them poured through the door to see Nobuyuki sitting in his bed with Washu beside him, both fully clothed; he was holding the side of his face while sobs racked his body.

"She… She's leaving me," he said which caused them all to look confused.

"Who's leaving?" Washu asked, letting herself calm down and try to be soothing.

"Oh gods, she's leaving me…" he whimpered then grabbed Washu and began wailing heavily.

"Dad?" Tenchi asked while slowly approaching them on the bed.

Nobuyuki looked up to see his son, but not as the man, he had become, but the small child that he once had to tell that his mother was not coming back.  "Tenchi… I-I'm sorry." Grabbing Tenchi, he began trying to soothe his son, though he wasn't crying.  "She's left us… She's not coming back…"

'She?' He thought frantically trying to understand what his father was meaning.

"Tenchi," he heard Ryoko call to him softly.  Turning slightly towards her she whispered, "I've heard him say that before."  Ryoko looked to have tears forming in her eyes though she was trying hard not to weep herself.

"Dad?"

"Kiyone's gone… she's not coming back… I'm sorry son."

 Tenchi put his arms around his father and tried to fight back the tears forming in his own eyes.  After all these years, it still hurt to think of what happened.  And like before, his father was literally loosing his grip on reality, or so it seemed.  Tenchi knew that when this happened last time, he had been sent to stay with his grandparents for a while so that his dad could take care of some issues.  During that time, the two hardly saw each other except on weekends and even then he spent most of that time with his grandmother.  Until she died as well.  The two most important women in his life were lost, never to return. He thought of Ryoko and Ayeka and how he nearly lost them both on occasion and he lost his ability to hold back the tears. Both father and son held each other and cried until they had no tears left.

Ayeka was watching these events in a stunned silence.  She had no clue what was going on, nor what could seemingly have caused them both to begin crying like they were.  Looking over at Ryoko, she noticed that the pirate was holding her eyes shut tightly as well as clenching her fists.  Though, she did not know the reason, she knew Ryoko understood.  When she felt a tug on her sleeve, she looked down at Sasami to see the little princess had tears running down her face.  Sasami continued to pull on Ayeka's sleeve until she understood that she was being asked to leave.

Nodding Ayeka gripped Ryoko's shoulder and pulled the pirate out of the room as well.  She walked Ryoko into the living room and asked her quietly, "What's going on?"

"They're talking about her."

"Her? Who?"  Ayeka looked so confused that had Ryoko been in better spirits she might have laughed.

"Tenchi's mother.  She died when he was very young."

"Oh my!" She looked back at the room where the two men were still shedding their tears.  "How… how do you know this?"

Ryoko took a large breath to calm herself, "When Tenchi was a boy he came running up to my cave crying.  I didn't know why at first, but he was so sad.  Later when Nobuyuki showed up, I found out that his mother had died, and he tried then to tell Tenchi that she wasn't coming back. I tried to comfort him the best I could, but I couldn't feel him. But even if I could, there's little I could have done to ease the pain of loosing his mother."

"So, it was true?"

"What was true?"

"I thought you had made up that story of him coming to your cave before, but it's true?"  Ayeka was ashamed of herself for not believing her.

For her part, Ryoko just nodded her head as Washu came around the corner.  She did not see Mihoshi anywhere around for a few moments then realized the TV was on.  Turning towards the TV, she could see Mihoshi just sitting there, seemingly watching but her eyes did not seem to be looking at the TV.  Sasami stepped up beside Washu and looked at the blonde-haired woman too, "She just started crying when she saw him crying so I pulled her out of the room."  She shrugged helplessly as she looked at the blonde who was watching her favorite show but showing no emotions.  "I think seeing them brought back some bad memories for her."

"Bad memories?"  The perplexed princess asked. 

Washu sat on the couch looking sullen.  She just sat there looking out the window her eyes contemplative and brooding.  She knew from last night that he still missed his wife and this morning was extremely taxing on her mentally.  Last night she had relived many of her worst and best memories last night and she had thought that maybe her days of pain and solitude were just about over.  But she didn't think that she could handle this on a regular basis. 

Ryoko sat beside her mom and placed a hand on her shoulder as she was feeling things, strong emotions from her mom that she hadn't felt before.  "Mom… um Washu?"

"I thought… no I never thought…."

"Thought what?"  Ryoko asked trying to sort through the emotions that Washu was transmitting through her link.

'My Ryoko,' she said mentally.  'I never wanted to… to feel that pain again.  When I lost them, I never wanted to feel anything.  For thousands of years, I was alone, and I hated it.'  She looked at her daughter, 'I made you, I wanted you to keep me company… to be with me… but I didn't want anyone to take you away from me so I….'  She paused for a moment and looked at Ryoko; she could see the confusion and fear. 'When you were born… you… you had the same body you do now.  I couldn't handle you as a baby; it hurt so much and reminded me of him.'

Ayeka looked on as Mihoshi sat stunned silent watching her cartoons and Ryoko and Washu sat looking at each other like they were deep in conversation but no sound was heard.  She watched as Ryoko placed her hand on Washu's shoulder and gave it a light squeeze and the too looked ready to cry, 'But at what?' she thought confusion etching itself on her face.

'Is that why I have no memories of being a child?' Ryoko asked mentally and trying for once to listen.

'Yes, but when you were born you had the mind of a child still so you had to be taught some things just like a baby.  And then…' She stopped as her body convulsed.  Ryoko in her mind saw Kagato, and hate entered her heart at full force, but something about him looked different.  He was smiling and had a gentle look to his face, unlike the sinister one she had come to know.  It seemed as if he was a different person.  'He had been my best student…' her mother added softly.  'I was so careless then, and so happy to have someone else to share my life with that I overlooked all -.' She couldn't finish her sentence.

'All what?'

'I… I didn't want to be lonely again, so I let him have access to my lab… all of it.  He was there when you were born.'

'He was there!'

'Yes, after that he mentioned that you needed a pet, and since you didn't like crabs we tried other ideas and finally we created Ryo-Ohki.  Then…'

'What happened?'

'He turned on us… all of us…' she then threw her arms around Ryoko crying.  'I lost everything!' She mentally cried, then cried out loud, "Mikamo, Mikumo, then you and Ryo-Ohki!  I can't loose anyone else!"

Mihoshi's head snapped up and stared at the distraught scientist as she cried. She didn't know of the mental conversation that she had just had with Ryoko, but the first few names she mentioned she knew, and knew well.  "Miss Washu?"

Washu groaned, "What Mihoshi?"

"Did you say you knew Mikamo and Mikumo?"

Just the mention of the names caused Washu to start crying again.  "Why'd you have to go and ask that? Now she's crying even more!" Ryoko demanded.

"Because I know a Mikumo and his dad was Mikamo," she said quietly and then looked away ashamed of herself for making Washu cry.

She was spun around fiercely by Washu, "What do you mean?"

"Ouch! You're hurting me!"

"Tell me damn it!" Washu demanded shaking the girl before Ryoko and Ayeka could pry her off the poor ditz.

"Miss Washu, calm down," pleaded Ayeka as they finally pulled her off Mihoshi.

"How'd you know Mikumo was his son?" Washu demanded again.

"He's my great-grandfather,' she said again rubbing her arms from where Washu had been holding her.

Ryoko looked at Mihoshi, then at the mental image she had of Washu's baby, and she noticed a number of similarities between the two.  "Oh no!"

"What?" Ayeka and Mihoshi asked.

"She's… your… my… if it's… but it can't be…."  Ryoko was stunned and she did not want to think about the fact that she was indeed related to the ditz.

Ayeka thought about it then put what Washu and Mihoshi had been saying together finally, "Oh my," she said as she came to the same realization that Ryoko had.

Washu had already come to the same conclusion though she didn't want to accept it.  Grabbing Mihoshi by the arm, she dragged the blonde into the lab.  Ryoko and Ayeka rushed to catch up to them and by the time they caught up to them, Washu had already deposited her in a chair and was grabbing something off a table that had suddenly appeared.  "M-M-Miss Washu… what are you doing?" Mihoshi asked terrified.

"Just hold out your arm, this won't hurt…" She did not even wait for the blonde to do so before she grabbed for the flailing arm and jabbed the metal device into it.

"AHHH!!" Mihoshi screamed prompting Ryoko to grab Washu and Ayeka to grab Mihoshi to pull them apart.  But the scientist had already gotten what she needed.  "That hurt!" The blonde whimpered.

"What the hell are you up to?" Ryoko demanded, but Washu just began typing on her computer.

"Well it looks like your arm is ok, no bruising," said Ayeka as she inspected Mihoshi's arm.  The girl just sniffled and it was evident that she was more scared than hurt.  Ayeka; however, was not satisfied.  "Miss Washu, I demand you tell us what you're doing."

"It's true…" Washu said just barely above a whisper, but Ryoko heard it all too clearly as if Washu was screaming it.

"What's true?" Ayeka demanded.

Washu turned around to Mihoshi with tears in her eyes, "I-I… I'm sorry, but I had to know.  Could it really be true…?" Ryoko was holding her head as Washu's rampant emotions were giving her a massive migraine.  "Do, do you have a picture of your great-grandfather?

"Umm, I don't think so, but my grandfather would."  Mihoshi had not yet come to realize why she was being asked this, but considering how Washu was acting this was very serious to her.  "Can you contact the GP headquarters?"

"Of course I can!" Washu crowed and opened up her floating computer.  In seconds a huge screen appeared in front of them all and the word, 'connecting' could be seen on it.

"Please input your name and password please," a computerized voice said.

"Um, Mihoshi Kuramitsu…." She began then stopped.

"Password please."

"There was an old woman that lived in a shoe?"

"Access granted. Welcome detective."

"Now what?" She asked Washu.

"Can you call your grandfather?"

"Oh sure, um, connect to GP Director Minami Kuramitsu."

"Connecting…" the voice said, "Complete."

The screen changed to display an older man with a long blonde beard and blonde hair.  "Hello Mihoshi, it's been a while."

"Hi grandpa!  Um, Miss Washu here wants to ask you a question."

He looked over at the redhead.  "Ah Miss Washu, it's good to see you. I've read Mihoshi's report and she says that you were held captive for some time."

"Thanks, but… um, do you have a picture of your father?"

He looked surprised at the question.  "I think so, but what do you need that for?"

"Please! I need to see it!" Washu begged then changed into her adult form.

Instantly his eyes went wide. "NO! It can't be!"  He fished around looking for something in his desk then lifted up a small picture frame.  "My father kept this; it was his most prized possession.  I never understood why, but…" he looked at it then at Washu.  "I don't believe it…" he held the picture up for them all to see and after one look, Washu fainted.

"Um… Miss Washu?"  Mihoshi asked.

"It's the picture from her memories," yelled Ryoko causing Ayeka to cover her ears.

"Mihoshi, what is going on?" He asked in confusion.

"I don't know, she was saying that she lost Mikamo and Mikumo, and I just said…"

"Um sir…" Ryoko began, "I think I can explain it."  Though her head hurt it helped now that her mom was out cold.

"Yes?" Three people intoned wishing her to explain it.

"Washu was married a long time ago to a man named Mikamo, and they had a son named Mikumo.  But while her son was still a baby, Mikamo took him away from her because of… of…" She paused as she tried to remember the reason.

"Social status," Washu finished, getting up off the floor and shaking her head.  "He was from a noble family and I didn't have a family at the time.  So, they forced him to leave me.  He took my son… he took…" she choked up and began to shed tears.

The GP director looked like he had seen a ghost and he fell back into his chair.  "This is not possible, how could you still be alive?"  Everyone looked at him in surprise.  "My father told me that same story… though grandpa never wanted to talk about it.  When grandpa died, his last words were that he regretted listening to them.  It all makes sense now."

"You mean it's true!" Ayeka shouted alarmed.

"Oh yes, there is no one beside me and my father that knew the complete story.  At least we thought we were the only ones that knew it."  He looked at Washu and at the picture again.

"So you're… my grandson… is my son still alive!"

Ryoko slumped heavily to the floor as this was becoming just too much for her to handle.  Ayeka stepped up beside her and placed a hand on the pirates' shoulder for support, though she did it unconsciously.

Minami shook his head sadly; "I'm afraid not.  He was one of the chief officers involved in getting the GP to go after Kagato.  He was, never seen again."

"DAMN HIM!" Washu cried as she fell to her knees. Not only had Kagato robbed her of her daughter but now her son as well.

Ryoko felt waves of guilt passing over her.  If anyone came after Kagato then she was the one that would have killed them. 'Not him,' she though angrily and then remorse overtook her.  "I killed him…' She looked up with tears flowing, 'I- I killed him… he would've been my brother… I've killed him!"

Ayeka put her arms around the distraught pirate, as Mihoshi stared at them wide-eyed as did Mikumo as the princess began to speak. "No, you didn't.  He did it; it's not your fault."

To the shock of everyone, Ryoko did something that she had only once done in her life, "Mommy!"

Washu hearing her daughter and feeling her pain rushed over to her and held her daughter trying to soothe away the pain.  "I'm here… shhh, mommy's here."  From where the two were sitting on the floor, it gave everyone a good view of a mother caring for her daughter.

Ayeka smiled at the two of them finally acting like mother and daughter while Mihoshi just sniffled, and thought how much she missed her own mom at this moment.  Minami, the GP Director just watched in stunned surprise.  He had heard many stories of the infamous Space Pirate Ryoko, and so when Mihoshi's report had mentioned her, he had found it hard to believe that Ryoko had not performed those crimes on her own, and that she was indeed just a tool used by Kagato.  To make matters more interesting, she was acting nothing like the pirate he had been expecting, and not only that, but his great-grandmother was calling the universe's most feared space pirate, her daughter.  Had he not been sitting already he would have fallen over.

He took his eyes off them a moment and realized that Ayeka Jurai, was there and actually trying to help calm Ryoko down.  'What the…' he thought as he watched this.  He remembered Mihoshi's report saying that the princess was there, but from what he understood the pirate and princess never got along. Now it seems like they were friends.  "Mihoshi, what's happened over there?"

"He chose," Mihoshi said with a hint of sadness.  It still hurt that he didn't choose her, 'But maybe Nobuyuki was right, maybe he's not my destiny.'

"Chose?" He looked perplexed as he watched the exchange. "Chose what?"

"Huh, it's in my report," she looked at him confused.

He help up an official looking report for her to see, "No it's not, I have been over it several times since you submitted it."

Mihoshi looked at it, "That's the wrong one."

"It's the only one I received from you."

"But mine had little flowers and things on the front of it."

"I see, well did you keep a copy of it?"

"Of course I always do!" She added cheerfully.

"Good, I expect to have it sent to me soon then," he told her grinning.

"Yes sir," she said snickering and thought it was fun to have a grandfather like him.

"Sir if I may," Ayeka said prompting him to turn towards her.

"Yes your highness," he said bowing.

"Please, just Ayeka for now."  He raised an eyebrow at that, but she continued.  "When was Mr.…" she paused trying to remember his name.

"Mikumo," Mihoshi supplied.

"Yes, when um did Mr. Mikumo, become missing?"

"It's been about 500 years or so I guess.  He was headed to one of our other spaceports when the captain of the ship reported seeing the Soujya, and after the fleet attacked it, none were seen again.   We lost a lot of good men."

All movement from the girls stopped.  'Only 500 years ago, that means,' all of them thought in unison.

"I…." Ryoko tried but was unable to speak.

"You…." Washu tried.

"You didn't," supplied Ayeka as both of them looked up at her.  "That was well after you fought Yosho, so you didn't cause this."  Ryoko smiled at the princess while Washu tried to pick herself up off the floor letting Ayeka help Ryoko up.  This was a big relief to Washu's mind and to Ryoko's as neither wanted to think that Kagato had used her to kill her own brother.  Even if none of them knew it at the time, it was still a relief.

"Um, Your… I mean Miss Ayeka?" Minami asked cautiously.

"Yes?" She looked back up at him after helping Ryoko to her feet again.

"Since Miss Washu is unable to answer this yet," he nodded towards his now great-grandma and she smiled; though clearly still unable to voice things.  "From what I can tell from right now, it seems as if Ryoko is Washu's daughter, is that true?"  All of them nodded while Ayeka just told him yes.  "So you're telling me that I am related to her as well?"  He pointed towards Ryoko as he spoke which caused the ex-pirate to frown.

"Is that a problem?" Ayeka asked indignantly.

"No, I am just surprised," he said with a chuckle. "Though next time we have a family gathering I think I should give the others proper warning."  He began smiling as he looked at the two women, one his great-grandma and the other, his great aunt.

"Does that mean I'm related to them too?" Mihoshi squealed as both Ryoko and Washu groaned.

Ayeka just chuckled behind her hand, "Yes it does."

"YAY!" she screamed and proceeded to hug them fiercely.

"Ack! Can't breathe! Let go of me Mihoshi!" Ryoko gasped as the circulation of air was being cut off by Mihoshi's hug.

"Oh, sorry about that, Ryoko!" exclaimed a giggling Mihoshi, as she released the mother daughter duo.

They could hear Minami laughing in the background.  "Well this is going to be interesting.  Do you ladies have need of me any longer? I'm afraid I have a lot of paperwork to catch up on."

"N-No," Washu said while clearing her throat.  "I'll keep in touch; I want to talk to you more about your father, my son."

"It will be a pleasure," he said smiling.  "Goodbye for now then, grandmother Washu."  He closed the video link as Washu smiled.

Her smile then turned around 180 degrees as she suddenly turned on everyone nearby; "If any of you so much as calls me grandma I will make you regret it!"  The hard looks she gave them made them all fidget nervously, even Mihoshi.

"Well, um, Miss Ryoko would you care to join me for a bath… we need to talk."  Ayeka said to the ex-pirate then hurriedly left with Ryoko floating behind her.

As Ryoko reached the door she looked back at Washu, 'Thanks, mom.'

Washu nearly broke down again, 'Your welcome, my Ryoko.'  Ryoko then left leaving just Washu and Mihoshi in the lab.

"Does this mean I can come visit you anytime now?"

"It's never stopped you before," she suddenly turned towards the blonde and pointed a finger at her, "by the way, how have you been getting in my lab?"

"I just opened the door."  Mihoshi gave her a hug then skipped out of the room leaving a wide-eyed and confused Washu.

'Just walked in. but… no one can just do that, it's coded to my DNA…' she suddenly stopped as she thought about it and she laughed. 'Of course, my DNA is in her too, no wonder she gets in so easily… how am I going to keep her out now?'  Washu sat back on one of her floating pillows and lifted her hands to start typing, but she didn't know what to type, or rather what to type about.  Her experiments were going good, her daughter no longer thought of her as someone to be loathed, but as a mother, and Tenchi had chosen so all of that mess was cleared up.  All she had left to figure out now was what to do about Nobuyuki.

Leaning back on the pillow it became a chair to keep her from falling over. She turned on one of her monitors that was set it to view his room, as she was still concerned about his actions this morning, and she was worried about him.  As expected the two had stopped crying and now Tenchi was busy trying to get his dad to say something.  Turning up the volume a bit she began to watch the two men.

"Dad, what happened?"

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that, I was just surprised… and scared," he added nervously.

"Scared? Of what?" Tenchi asked and Washu nodded in agreement, she wanted to know too.

"She appeared to me, after all this time she was there… and… she told me goodbye… that I didn't need her anymore."

Both Tenchi and Washu looked at him strangely.  "What do you mean?"

"I mean she was standing right there!" He said pointing towards the door.  "She was right there, and she told me goodbye!"  He rubbed his forehead as he tried to think this through.  He knew that she had been gone for a long time and it was not possible for her to be there, but he could have sworn she was.

"Maybe you dreamed it?" Tenchi offered shrugging his shoulders.

"I don't think so."  Nobuyuki said running his fingers through his tangled hair.

"Why?"

"Because when I woke up and could smell Sasami's cooking and I could hear Mihoshi talking as well.  Then, I felt her…."  He stopped as he smiled slightly, his thoughts caught up in the memories.

"Mom?"

"No, Washu. She was here; asleep in my arms… it's been so long since I've held anyone… it-it was nice.  I-I… I really enjoyed it.  Holding someone like that again."

"But I thought you said you saw mom?" Tenchi asked confused while Washu smiled thinking about what he said.

"Yes, I felt… I felt something, I looked up from her face…, and Kiyone was there.  My wife… I was terrified!  I promised her that I would remain true to her… and I wasn't."  Nobuyuki hung is head in sorrow and Washu felt guilty now for doing what she did.

"What… How… Um, what happened?"  Tenchi asked trying to find the words.

Nobuyuki chuckled, "She smiled at me… then said goodbye… when she turned I screamed for her to stop and shortly after that you and the others burst into the room.

"I see, wow, dad, that's um, eh…" Tenchi didn't know what to say. He tried hard to believe what his father was telling him, but it all seemed rather impossible.

"No Tenchi, it's not impossible," a voice from the doorway said and three sets of eyes looked towards the door to see Tsunami there.  "She was here; I allowed her to reveal herself."

"So she was here!" Tenchi, Nobuyuki and Washu all asked amazed.   The goddess just nodded as the three of them stared at her in bewilderment.

"Why is she leaving me?" Nobuyuki asked, not even trying to hold back the tears.

"Nobuyuki, you no longer need me."  Again, three sets of eyes with the exception of Tsunami stared at the figure that just appeared beside the goddess.  "Tsunami has given me only a short time."  The goddess nodded her head and left from the room.

"Kiyone…" Nobuyuki stared at her.

"Mom?" Tenchi asked amazed.

"Oh my!" Washu exclaimed as she watched the events in utter amazement.

She moved over beside Nobuyuki and placed a hand on his cheek.  "I promised you before that I would always watch over you as long as I needed to."  Stroking his cheek and wiping his tears away, she continued "But you no longer need me.  Neither of you do, as you both have others more capable of caring for you than I can."

"But…" Nobuyuki began but was cut off.

"No more, you do not need to hide.  I have watched you and I see how you have hidden your heart and feelings away from others.  It's time to stop hiding."  He just nodded mutely as she turned towards her son.

"I'm sorry for what I said mom," Tenchi could not look at her; his heart ached too much.

"I know, and I know that you did not mean it," she placed her ghostly arms around him and Tenchi could for a moment feel his mothers love.  "I'm sorry I had to go when you were so young."

"I miss you!" he cried as he tried to hold her, as did Nobuyuki.

They just held each other for a moment as Washu wiped the tears from her eyes.  "I wish I could find love like that." She said to the screen.  To her amazement Kiyone looked up at the screen and mouthed the words, 'you have.'

"My time is almost over," she said pulling away from them.

"What do I do now?" Nobuyuki asked as he tried to clear his eyes.

"Go out on the date you promised her."

"What? But I was drunk!"

When Washu heard this, the scientist angered immediately, "What the hell! You only asked me cause you were drunk!"

"Do you not want to go out with her?"

"I would love to, but… but I was drunk when I asked!  She-She might not want to now that I'm not or she might think that I had to be drunk to ask her… or…" he was silenced by a finger being pressed to his lips.

Washu was sitting back in her chair thinking.  'He wanted to… but… he was… ashamed? Because he was drunk?'  It didn't make sense.

"Dad, you asked her out?"

"Well yea… and I guess we kind of fell asleep together… but nothing happened…" he replied defensively, but then added, "I don't think so anyway…"

"My love," Kiyone spoke gently to him, "simply ask her again. I do not think she will tell you no.  You were the first one asleep last night on the dock."  Nobuyuki looked dumbfounded.

"She carried me in?"

"In a way yes," Tsunami suddenly said while reappearing in the doorway.  "It is time."

"Goodbye my love, I will see you again," she said then kissed him. He had kissed her many times in the past and in his dreams, but this time, it felt different.  It held the same love, but he felt that she was kissing him goodbye.  She released him from the kiss and she smiled at him, he knew then that this was goodbye, something that he had not had a chance to do before.  Turning to Tenchi she told him, "Goodbye my son, I will always love you, never forget that."  She then hugged her son for a moment before she began to fade.

Tenchi tried to hold on to her, but he felt her fading away from him, until he was holding onto nothing but air.  When he looked up, he saw Tsunami by the door.  She did not say a word; there was nothing left to say. She shimmered and within an instant, disappeared.  Both father and son embraced for one final hug before attempting to leave the room.

Washu was still sitting in her lab with her mouth agape, but she had a feeling that things just might be looking up for her in the future.  It was evident to her that he still loved Kiyone, and she could not blame him for it.  She still loved her husband, even after all these years.

To be Continued… again… I'm serious…. Really

Next time: Ryoko and Ayeka talk in the onsen. Nobuyuki and Washu have a heart to heart, this time sans sake.  And Tenchi will start training with a now younger Yosho, but his sense has something up his sleeve that Tenchi is not going to like.

Note: I want to share this with everyone, this is a family tree of sorts detailing who is related to whom and I am going to be using it for reference and for names of certain individuals, namely Mihoshi's relatives.  One thing to notice is that it lists Tenchi's mother as Kiyone Masaki, not Kiyone from Tenchi Universe. This is from a FAQ that is a part of the AIC BBS: http:

You might ask why am I putting this info here, well it is to show that the names are really not my own, as I said before none of the characters are mine, though I wish they were. This is to explain a few things included here as I am, until forced, not going to say that Kiyone is Tenchi's mother.  Kiyone is his mother and she is generally accepted as such.

I could always use help with pre-reading the story before the next chapter is posted. If you would like to help please go   
I have the next several chapters posted there for my beta readers to help me on.


	4. Serious Discussions

Tenchi Muyo: Serious Discussions

I do not own Tenchi Muyo, or any of its characters or ideas, but I wish I did.  As for this story, it was written as a sort of what if, while I wait for OVA 3 and GXP to be released stateside.  I started on this after wondering, what if he actually did make a choice?  For those that have read the "True Tenchi Novels" that detail the backgrounds on the characters, I have not read those.  I guess you could say that this is an AU as I have made certain decisions on their backgrounds to fit my story.  And if the Character appear OOC, there is a good reason.

I want to send a very BIG THANKS out to Doug Dennis, Top Quark (Shadow Quark) and Chendzeea Li for helping me with this story.

From Last time:

"Goodbye my love, I will see you again," she said then kissed him. He had kissed her many times in the past and in his dreams, but this time, it felt different.  It held the same love, but he felt that she was kissing him goodbye.  She released him from the kiss and she smiled at him, he knew then that this was goodbye, something that he had not had a chance to do before.  Turning to Tenchi she told him, "Goodbye my son, I will always love you, never forget that."  She then hugged her son for a moment before she began to fade.

Tenchi tried to hold on to her, but he felt her fading away from him, until he was holding onto nothing but air.  When he looked up, he saw Tsunami by the door.  She did not say a word; there was nothing left to say. She shimmered and within an instant, disappeared.  Both father and son embraced for one final hug before attempting to leave the room.

Washu was still sitting in her lab with her mouth agape, but she had a feeling that things just might be looking up for her in the future.  It was evident to her that he still loved Kiyone, and she could not blame him for it.  She still loved her husband, even after all these years.

And now

Tenchi Muyo: Serious Discussions

When Ayeka had asked for Ryoko to join her she had planned in her mind what she would say, but now as they sat in the warm waters of the onsen she could not seem to get her thoughts together.  She looked over at Ryoko and she was surprised that the pirate was just leaning back soaking and not drinking this time.  "Uh, Miss Ryoko…" she began trying to talk about something that was on her mind, but also scared to talk about these same things.

"Yea Ayeka," she responded, though it seemed to the princess that she was close to being asleep and amazingly, there were no signs of sarcasm or rudeness.

"I, I was wondering…" she began and stopped again, "how long have you been staying in Tenchi's room?"  It was not what she really wanted to know but it was a start, at least she hoped.

Ryoko opened her eyes and sat up stretching a little. "You're not going to tell me it wasn't proper or anything are you?"

"No, I... was just curious…"

"Well I guess I've been in and out since…" she shuddered as she remembered Kagato.  "Since 'he' took me away, and Tenchi came to get me…  I-I just haven't been able to sleep thinking that he might not be there anymore."

"I see," Many things were going through her mind.  She was furious that this had been going on for so long, but she knew that Ryoko had not done anything to him, 'well nothing bad,' she thought.  "Um, about last night… I, um…" She was about to say more when Ryoko suddenly sat upright clutching her head.

"AH! IT HURTS! STOP IT! NO!"  She let out a scream loud enough that the glass surrounding the onsen shattered outward.  Ayeka barely was able to cover herself with her towel and put up a shield before glass rained down on them.

"Miss Ryoko!"

"DAMN IT!" She shouted out in pain and then fell into the water unmoving, seemingly untouched by anything.

Ayeka picked her up out of the water and leaned her back against the wall.  Tenchi, Sasami, Ryo-Ohki, Washu and Mihoshi soon rushed in.  "Ryoko! Miss Ryoko!" She called out.  Tenchi jumped into the water, lifted her up, and brought her to the side of the water where Washu had setup a small table.

"Put her here," she told him.

"What's wrong?" He asked and everyone looked to Ayeka who shrugged.

"I don't know, we were talking then she started screaming," explained Ayeka who was at a loss. 

Ryo-Ohki sniffed at Ryoko then jumped back hissing. "Ryo-Ohki, what's wrong?" Sasami asked trying to pick up the cabbit.

"Well, it seems that she is more closely connected than we thought."  A male voice said as he watched a monitor showing what was happening on Earth.  In the monitor they could see the youngest princess Pick up the cabbit and walk out of the onsen.

"Sir," another man said as he entered the room.

The older man turned towards him, "Go ahead."

"The engines are now online and the first pulse was sent through the gem."

"Good," he looked at another screen showing a very large red gem.  "Soon Washu, you and that boy will regret what you did."  He then began to laugh loudly as another sat beside the desk calmly.

"You will have your hands full with them now," the man said.

"Yes, I was taken by surprise by that boy before, but not again.  Zero betrayed me and now I will destroy that woman and that boy for what they did to me!"

"Surely you're not still upset over that vase?"

"ARGH!  That vase was supposed to be a priceless artifact! I hate that woman!"

"You just be sure to get the pirate ant that boy out of the way, I hear that there are plans for the princesses."

"As long as they stay out of my way I can guarantee that they will not be harmed."

"If they are harmed, you will be punished more severely than you can ever imagine, that is a promise."

He looked at the shadowed figure by the desk and wondered just what would happen, but he dared not test it, "Yes sir."

The figure stood and walked out the door giving the doctor a quick view of his long robes, but his head was covered, so even he could not tell who it was that had got him out of the GP jail and onto a rebuilt Soujya.  The craft was amazing, and while it held some similarities to the original, the biggest difference was in its power system.  The original one had two large gems, but one had been sliced in half and was useless.  However the remaining one was proving to be very effective and not only that but through the gem he could control that girl again, but this time she could not fight back like Zero had.

"Her feelings for him were unexpected, but not this time." He looked back at the monitor in time to see Washu entering her lab with Tenchi and Ayeka following.  "This time I will not give her the chance to defy me."

Washu, Tenchi and Ayeka stood around the table where Ryoko was sleeping, each one was worried as she had passed out and had yet to wake up.  All three of them were wondering what was wrong, but Washu felt the pressure more as she could not find an answer and neither could she reach Ryoko mentally, it was as if she had completely lost all consciousness.  Washu had been looking over her monitors and after picking up a sensor and turning back around to Ryoko she was startled by something.

"Ryoko!" She yelled startled as Ryoko's eyes were finally open and she seemed to be looking around.

"Ouch, my head…." She said as she lifted up her hand and began massaging her forehead.

"RYOKO!" Tenchi yelled then proceeded to hug her fiercely.

Ryoko never being one to pass off a hug from him just hugged him back and asked over his shoulder. "Um, what are you…" she started then looked around, "what am I doing in here?" 

"Don't you remember?" Ayeka asked looking visibly relieved.

"We were in the onsen… then my head hurt… and now I'm here…" She shrugged as much as she could while still holding onto Tenchi.

He slowly pulled away from her.  "But, you've been out for over an hour!"  Ryoko looked to Washu and Ayeka who nodded in agreement, but none of them, even Washu could tell her why.

"Do you remember anything else? You were saying to stop it, but none of us were doing anything," Ryoko just shook her head as Ayeka asked.  "There must be some reason…" Ayeka finally said.

"Why…" Tenchi began but stopped.

"Why what?" All three asked.

"Why did Ryo-Ohki hiss at you?"  He looked at Ryoko and shook his head, "She was with Sasami after you yelled and then she hissed at you… I've never seen her do that before."

"I… I don't know…" she said shakily and then looked around.  "Where is she anyway?"

"Can't you find her?" Ayeka asked, as she knew that the two had some connection.

"She… She's blocking me…" she said nervously, then turning to Washu, "Can you find her?"

"It shouldn't be hard," and with that, she proceeded to find the cabbit.

"Well princess," Ryoko began and looked at Ayeka expectantly while Tenchi just sat beside the pirate.

Ayeka looked puzzled, "Well what?"

"What did you want to talk about?"

"Oh, well… Um, well I had wanted to speak with you about…" She paused then looked at Tenchi, "I had meant to talk to you… um… alone."

He looked between them a moment as Ayeka smiled sheepishly.  Ryoko finally squeezed his hand lightly, "I'll be fine,: she sighed as she hated to make him leave… especially since he was so close to her.  "Oh and Tenchi, you might want to tell the others I'm fine."  Tenchi squeezed her hand and after giving her another hug, he left the two alone.  "Ok, now… what did you want to talk about," she asked again, though this time she was a bit more annoyed.

Ayeka sat there quietly for a moment before she looked up, her expression seemed happy but it was marred with a sense of quiet dread.  "I… I had it all planned out…"

"What planned out?"

"Please, just listen," she asked softly to which Ryoko just nodded. "When I found out that he was Yosho's grandson and that Yosho was so old, I thought that… Oh I don't know what I thought right then." She sighed heavily.  "He went after you though, he had to save you.  I always thought it was because he was obligated to, but he loved you even then…" She sniffed slightly as she tried to think of the words that she wanted to say.  "I used to wish that he would choose me and we could return to Jurai… but now…" she looked up at Ryoko's face and she could see that the pirate was about to cry. She had hurt her friend.  "I know that must sound selfish of me…"

"What do you wish for now?" Ryoko's voice was small and completely unlike her normal boisterousness.

The princess sighed once more, "Just to be happy… I can see now that he won't be happy on Jurai, and I don't want to leave him, and you don't need to go back there… not yet…"

"Not yet? What do you mean?"

She almost smiled at her friend, "Maybe someday we can all return to Jurai and 'we' will be accepted," she stressed the 'we' and motioned with her hands towards Ryoko and herself.  "But for now, I want to be with him… and you… I-I never…" Ayeka took a deep breath as she tried to say it, "I never thought I would call you a friend… but, in the onsen, I was worried…."

"You! You were worried about me!"

"As strange as it sounds," she gave Ryoko a wry smile, "You have been a constant source for pain and aggravation for me…"

"HAY!"

Ayeka just laughed, as Ryoko looked upset, "But you've also been a friend."  Ryoko calmed down and smiled as well. "I think I can be happy, wherever he goes I will, and I know you will too."

"And I think I can help with that!" Washu cackled as she approached the two.

"How long have you been listening to us?" Ryoko demanded, but Ayeka had other ideas than that.

"Miss… I mean Little Washu… How can you help?"

"Please, just call me Mother Washu!"

"WHAT!" Both girls screamed in unison.

"Well since you and Ryoko will be marrying Tenchi I will become his and your mother!" She batted her eyes innocently, while she thought of how she could torment them all.

"That's mother-in…" Ayeka started but a stern look from Washu cut her off.

"If you even think of calling me that, you will regret it."

"Ah yes… I see."  Ayeka stammered then began laughing.

Ryoko looked at the princess indignantly, "What's so funny?"

"Well… I think… I can handle one more mother, but can you handle two!" She laughed.

"Two!"

"That's right," Washu said putting her finger to her chin, "Well I guess you will have Misaki and Funaho as mothers as well."

"WHAT!"

"She's right," the princess giggled and tried to stop her very un-proper laughing fit.

"Oh, damn it!"

"You had better start practicing now…" Ayeka said as she was getting herself back under control.

"Practicing? For what?"

"For when my mother Misaki makes you say Mommy!"  Ayeka then began laughing harder; just picturing Ryoko saying it that she nearly fell over.

"LIKE HELL!  I'm not going to say that!"

Ayeka just laughed all that much harder as she knew no one could withstand her mother.  Washu however was not used to being brushed off, and from the looks of things the two of them needed something else to talk about as Ryoko looked ready to kill Ayeka regardless of what they had just talked about.  "Well this is interesting, but we need to talk."

"NOW WHAT!" Ryoko screamed and then teleported just before a vase landed in the spot that she had just been in while Ayeka fell to the floor laughing uncontrollably.

"I see you're learning, but we need to talk about where you're going."

"What do you mean?" Ryoko asked as she lowered herself to the floor.

"Well first we need to get Ayeka under control here," She lifted the princess off the floor and sat her on the table as she tried to stop her laughing.  "Well," Washu tried, as Ayeka seemed to be calming down.  "Since you're not going to Jurai, and not staying here I've been looking at some other places."

"Go on…" Ryoko said quietly, as knowing her mother there would be a hitch in there somewhere.

"Well I have been checking out a few possibilities and I have found this little planet that has just been on the fringes of the galaxy for some time and they are open to alien immigrants and customs, but…"

"Oh I knew it! There's a catch!" Ryoko proclaimed as Ayeka listened.

"Well, yes, but not for you, they never had anything of value and they were too far away and too weak for any system to really want to control it.  Mostly a lot of farmers, which means…"

"…Which means I will be just Ayeka, and not a princess," Ayeka said softly, as this had cut off her laughter rather abruptly.

"I'm sorry, but while Jurai is known to them, they only provide a few of Jurai's remote colonies with food occasionally and Jurai has no presence on that planet yet."

 "So…" Ryoko began and Ayeka groaned, as she knew what was coming, "They've never heard of me either?"  Ayeka looked at Ryoko curiously, as she wasn't expecting that.

"More than likely, he never went anywhere near them, no major wealth or power and too far away to really use for anything," Washu said cautiously.

"YES!!!!!!" Ryoko screamed jumping into the air.  "I can just be Ryoko, not a pirate or a demon! Hell I could even be just a normal person for once!"  Ayeka and Washu just watched as Ryoko flew around the room doing cartwheels in mid air with a few pirouettes thrown in.

"I guess she's happy…" Ayeka added calmly.

"Never thought she'd be that happy about being normal," the scientist added watching Ryoko dancing and spinning around.

While Ryoko was dancing in the Lab, Tenchi was faced with a very tough problem.  Katsuhito is back to being Yosho since he lost his disguise, and the training just got harder.  What's worse is that when he left to go check on Ryoko his grandfather told him that he has a new challenge starting as soon as he gets back.  "Man I hope this isn't a new torture he calls advanced training."

"Not quite." Tenchi stopped dead in his tracks as he heard that voice, he knew it mean he was in trouble.  Spinning around and preparing for an attack Tenchi hoped he was going to at least live to see his wedding day.  Surprisingly he was not attacked; Yosho was just standing there looking at him.  "Today marks the beginning of your test."

"My test?"

"SILENCE!"  Yosho thundered and Tenchi meekly nodded.  "You have proposed to my sister in a way that is very unbecoming of a true warrior.  Therefore you will have to defend your honor, and hers."  Tenchi thought about asking what he meant but he knew this had to do with him inviting both Ayeka and Ryoko to go to bed with him, although nothing happened.  "This is the test, in six months I am leaving Earth to return to Jurai, as Funaho thinks it will be that long before she has completely re-grown the key components.  If at the end of six months you cannot defeat me in combat, Ayeka and Sasami will return to Jurai with me."

"WHAT!  That's not fair!"

"I never said it would be, but you chose to dishonor her and her family by taking her to bed like you did."

"But nothing happened!"

"Nothing has to, the fact you took her to your bed dishonors her.  If you cannot defeat me how do you think you can protect her?  And what makes you think that you have the right to ask a princess to marry you?  You want to live as a pauper, she deserves more that you."  Tenchi hung his head as the words stung him deeply; he knew that he didn't deserve her.  He didn't think he deserved any of them.  And yet they all cared for him in one way or another.  "Ah so you give up already, I will go tell the girls then.  Go sweep the steps."

Tenchi felt completely useless and dejected.  There was no way that he thought he could beat his grandfather, but to keep Ayeka he would have to try.  "No…" he said timidly.

"Did you say something?" Yosho mocked.  "She once loved me, now that I am young again she would much rather return to Jurai with me instead of staying here."  He knew he was being very harsh with Tenchi, but the boy barely took his training seriously.

"No," he said with more conviction and looked up slightly though still not looking him in the eyes.  "No… you won't take her."

"And what will you do about it?"  He tried not to smile, as this is exactly what he wanted though he hated having to do it this way.

"I-I won't let you take her from me."  Tenchi sounded bolder though he still lacked the ability to follow through with his threat.

"I see, so you accept the challenge.  Good, then you know the consequences.  If you fail, she will return with me, and by honor, you are bound to this.  Even if she begs to stay you must send her away or your honor means nothing."

Tenchi gulped hard, he was not expecting that, but he knew he would have to.  Honor would demand that he send her away though he knew that it would kill him to do it.  "I-I Understand."

"Very well, your training will begin.  But it will not be as easy as it was before, if you loose, you will loose her, and your honor."

Tenchi just sighed, he knew what would happen, and he could already see it.  He would be beaten and lying on the ground in pain as Ayeka cried.  Then to make matters worse his grandfather would force Ayeka to leave him like that.  He felt that his heart would burst already as he looked up at her tear streaked face, and then to tell her to go away, to leave him there… he just couldn't stand it.  'This is a new form of torture he's created.'

Yosho frowned looking at his grandson, 'Maybe this is too much, but I can't take it back now.'  He could tell by Tenchi's slumped shoulders that the boy had almost given up, and they had not even started.  "Go, and practice," he told the boy before returning to his office.  Once inside he fought to keep his own composure, looking at an old photograph of him and his wife he smiled remembering days gone by.

Washu and Ayeka had just gotten Ryoko calmed down, which was no easy task for them.  But finally they had got her back on the ground.  "Miss Ryoko, please calm down," Ayeka said exasperated.

"But this is great! No one will have ever heard of me!"

"Ok, Ok, we understand."  Ayeka was going to say more when a knock was heard at Washu' door.

Looking in her display, she could see Nobuyuki shifting his weight from one foot to the other.  "He really looks nervous."

"He does, shall we leave for a moment?" Ayeka asked; Ryoko just smiled.

"Yea, I've got to talk to him."

"Very well," Ayeka then escorted Ryoko out and let Nobuyuki in to see Washu.

"Um, Miss Washu..."

She was still unsure what he would say or do, since watching him earlier she knew that he was still carrying a lot of pain around.  That pain was something she was not sure she could handle. Sighing she decided to see what he would say, "What's up?"

"I-I um, I wanted to say... I'm sorry."

"SORRY!" Her anger instantly surfaced and she did not even try to contain it, 'That jerks sorry he asked me out!'

He bowed before her not even shying away from the possible damage she cold do to him.  "Yes, I shouldn't have asked that way."

"WHY YOU MISERABLE... I OUGHT TO... How could you say that? Why couldn't you ask?"

"NO! That way, I shouldn't have asked like that."

"What?"  She looked at him skeptically as she tried to calm herself.  She was not sure if after all these years she was ready for this.  It still haunted her memory when her husband left her, and then while watching Kiyone the ghost had clearly told her, she had found love.  'But I didn't want to find that!  I just wanted someone to talk to… someone too…' He interrupted her thoughts again.

"I was drunk and..."

"Oh just cause you were drunk you're going to blow off what you said to me?"

"NO, never!"

"Then what do you mean?"  She stood there tapping her foot impatiently as her heart was hurting; she was not even sure why it hurt so much.

"I've wanted to ask you for a while, but I shouldn't have asked when I was drunk."

She stopped to think about it and remembered that he said the same thing earlier.  'He's really hung up on that,' she thought as she recalled how he explained it earlier.  "Ok, so now what?"

"I would still like to take you out sometime, if you would like to?"  He tried smiling at her and hoping he cold stay her anger for just a little longer.

"You what?"  She was surprised; this was not what she expected, at least so soon.

"I would like to take you out… maybe this weekend?  Just us?"  He looked worried or nervous she thought and she was right on the money, inside he was screaming that he wasn't ready to care for anyone again; at least that's what he thought.

Washu smiled slightly at him. Despite her best efforts the smile grew, "Ok, we'll go out this weekend."

"Really?"  She just nodded at him, "You won't be disappointed," he said as he laughed nervously, though inside he was wondering, 'Where can I take someone that's been all over the galaxy?'

Later that evening over dinner, things were noticeably different.  Ayeka and Ryoko still sat on either side of Tenchi, but instead of fighting, they were talking as if they were long lost friends.  Despite his problems, Tenchi smiled.  He knew that he'd have to tell them, but when and how?  As his eyes took in those around him, he paused for a moment on Mihoshi.  She looked as cheerful as ever, as if nothing had changed, 'and yet so much has changed.' His thoughts drifted for a moment over the recent changes, but he was not sure what to do about Mihoshi.  'I care for her, but…' he was not sure if what he felt for the blonde was the same as he felt for Ryoko or Ayeka and he felt bad that she didn't have anyone.  He looked over at his dad who was constantly stealing glances at a now adult looking Washu.

'I hope they can be happy,' his thoughts again turned to what his grandfather had told him.  Tenchi was not sure what he should do anymore.  He has never defeated his grandfather, but if he didn't then he's loose Ayeka.  Of course before now he knew that Ryoko would be happy about that, but as he watched the two talking and laughing over dinner he didn't think that Ryoko would want her to leave either.

"Hay Tenchi, you ok?"

"Huh?" He looked up to see that Ayeka ant Ryoko were looking at him worriedly.

"Yes Lord Tenchi, you have barely eaten anything and the rest of the family is almost finished," Ayeka added.

"Oh, well…" he paused for a minute; he did not want to tell them here, not now.  "I'm sorry I just had a lot on my mind."  He chuckled nervously as they eyed him.  They let him skip by without explaining things right then, but with the looks they gave him he knew they were going to talk to him about it later.  That he could accept, but not here, and not right now.

Later that evening after dinner he was cornered in his room by both Ayeka and Ryoko.  "Ok, out with it," Ryoko demanded.

"Yes, Lord Tenchi, what is wrong?"

He sighed heavily, 'this is not going to be fun.'  Closing the door to his room, he sat on the edge of his bed as the two of them waited for an answer.  Patience was never something Ryoko had much of, but she was trying hard to wait for him to say what was on his mind.  "First…" he began, "What do you think of honor?"

Ryoko snorted while Ayeka thought about it, "Well honor is a very important thing, my brother always talked about it as did his trainers and our tutors."

"Hah, honor's not that important!" Added Ryoko.  "They talk about it, but when it comes down to it they'll stab someone in the back just as quickly as anyone else!"

Tenchi had to admit that both were right, but neither one really understood much about it.   He suddenly remembered a night when all of them had been partying and drinking to celebrate his graduation.  That night he had let Ryoko stay in the room with him.  But the thing that surprised him the most about that, is that he could remember inviting Ryoko into his bed… but she told him no.   "Ryoko, that night, when I was drunk…"

She knew the night he was talking about; he did not have to say anymore to remind her.  She had been so happy, but she knew he was just saying it because he was drunk.  "But you were drunk then, and I wanted…" She suddenly stopped as Ayeka listened intently.  "I knew it was the sake talking and not you…"

"And why didn't you ever do anything all those times you were in my room? It would have been easy."  Anger crossed her features, and he prayed that he could make all this sound as good as how he thought it did in his head.

Ryoko did not see where he was going with this other than making her mad. "You said I could stay as long as I didn't try any of that, and I didn't."

"You kept your word, a very honorable thing to do," he pointed out hoping to quell her anger.

"Yea I guess, so what of it?"

"Yes Lord Tenchi, what has this to do with your strange mood?"

"I have had my honor questioned…" he said softly.

"Questioned?" Both girls asked confused.

"Because I let the two of you sleep in here my honor and yours has been ruined."

"Oh my," Ayeka said as she realized how badly this might look.

"Wouldn't be the first time," Ryoko droned as she recalled the many times people called her a demon or worse before they even understood she could not control her actions.

"So, I have been challenged to a duel…"

"Good!" Ryoko stated, "Beat the crap out of them and let's get to bed!"

"It's grandfather…"

"But you've beat him…" Ryoko suddenly stopped as she thought about it, "…you haven't have you?"

He shook his head and looked down.  "He's given me a few months to train before the duel…"

Ayeka did not like where this was going, "And if you loose?"

"He says he will take you and Sasami back to Jurai with him."

"WHAT!" Ryoko screamed, "That dirty old man!  If he thinks he can just trick you into agreeing to that…" she slowed down as she ranted, "…You didn't agree… did you?"  He simply nodded and she threw her hands up in the air. "Great!  And I was just starting to get used to this."

"I won't go, no matter what."  Ayeka said defiantly.

Tenchi looked up at her and the sorrow was already there, "My honor won't let you stay when I lose."

"So you're giving up already!" Ryoko screamed.

"How can I beat him? He's had hundreds of years of training and even now, I can't even get one strike in! Much less hurt him!"

"So this is it… just great," Ryoko huffed and sat cross-legged in the air fuming.

"Miss Ryoko, you sound like you want me to stay?" Ayeka said sounding mildly surprised.

Ryoko just grumbled, "We've been through this before.  He won't be happy if he looses either of us remember." 

Ayeka just smiled and Tenchi looked at the two of them surprised.  With all the time they spent fighting, he never thought that this would happen.  However, he wasn't about to let them be pulled apart. "I won't let…" He started as the two girls looked at him.  "I won't loose.  I won't let us be separated."

They both smiled at him and he grinned broadly.  There were many things that he could say about them, but for them to be friends, he thought it was impossible.  However, they have recently kept him surprised. 

To be Continued… again… I'm serious…. Really

I could always use help with pre-reading the story before the next chapter is posted. If you would like to help please go   
I have the next several chapters posted there for my beta readers to help me on.


	5. Consequences and Honor

Tenchi Muyo: Consequences and Honor

I do not own Tenchi Muyo, or any of its characters or ideas, but I wish I did.  As for this story, it was written as a sort of what if, while I wait for OVA 3 and GXP to be released stateside.  I started on this after wondering, what if he actually did make a choice?  For those that have read the "True Tenchi Novels" that detail the backgrounds on the characters, I have not read those.  I guess you could say that this is an AU as I have made certain decisions on their backgrounds to fit my story.  And if the Character appear OOC, there is a good reason.

I want to send a very BIG THANKS out to Doug Dennis, Top Quark (Shadow Quark) and Chendzeea Li for helping me with this story.

From Last time:

Ryoko just grumbled, "We've been through this before.  He won't be happy if he looses either of us remember." 

Ayeka just smiled and Tenchi looked at the two of them surprised.  With all the time they spent fighting, he never thought that this would happen.  However, he wasn't about to let them be pulled apart. "I won't let…" He started as the two girls looked at him.  "I won't loose.  I won't let us be separated."

They both smiled at him and he grinned broadly.  There were many things that he could say about them, but for them to be friends, he thought it was impossible.  However, they have recently kept him surprised. 

And now

Tenchi Muyo: Consequences and Honor

Ryoko is used to time, or rather the passage of time.  She has passed the time away sleeping, drinking, fighting and just lounging around.  The ex-pirate was even used to waiting to arrive somewhere to destroy it, and even waiting for years, decades or centuries was not uncommon for her as she has spent 700 years in a cave where all she could do was think.  But in all that, it did not prepare her for what was happening now.

Tenchi had told her and Ayeka that unless he can beat Yosho in a duel then Ayeka and Sasami will be forced to go back to Jurai.  As much as she's hated the princess, she has come to see her also as a friend, and to suddenly have that friendship threatened is not something she liked. Not to mention the thought of losing Sasami, whom she now considered her little sister, was even worse. The fine meals wouldn't be the thing she'd miss the most about Sasami. Her energetic and happy personality kept the former pirate hopeful of a kind and loving future with her Tenchi, and yes, even Ayeka. However, she could think of nothing that could really help the situation.  She could spar with him and teach him everything she knew about sword fighting, but how could she compress a few thousand years of knowledge into just a few months or weeks?

What irritated her even more though was that neither Tenchi, nor herself had ever beaten Yosho.  He was the one that had beaten her, taken away the three gems, and then imprisoned her in the cave. And now he was the same one that is threatening to take away not only her best friend but her little sister as well.  Both of those were small compared to how much she hated him for putting Tenchi through this and making him accept such a stupid deal, … because of honor.

'Ryoko,' she heard a voice call her mentally, though she didn't want to listen.  'Ryoko,' the voice called louder.

'What?' She finally answered.  'I'm busy ok? I've got a lot on my mind.'

'I want you to come and take a look at something.'

Ryoko grumbled, but decided to go see what Washu's latest creation was. She needed something to do besides worrying, and this would stop Washu's insistent pestering.  After stepping into the lab, the door slammed shut behind her and the lights went out.  "Washu?  Damn it!"

A fanfare began to play and a spotlight came into view on Washu. This of course made the pirate groan, but seeing how she was not being trapped by anything yet she decided to watch.

"Welcome to my Lab!" Washu cried out as cheers and applause seemed to come from the blackness though Ryoko was not impressed. "Today we will unveil my greatest invention!  The Time Compressor!" A series of spotlights moved around the room before converging on a simple looking door that was connected to seemingly nothing. Opening the door Washu energetically showed that a field was there with her mecha tending to it.  "Inside you will see a simple field in a simulated environment, and by closing the door and starting the machine…" her floating keyboard appeared and she typed on it for a few seconds.  "…We will compress time so that time outside is one sixtieth what it is inside!"

"And that means?" Ryoko asked barely paying attention.

Washu grumbled and a few boos were heard from the blackness.  "That means that by taking the constant out of the time-relativity equation I can make time inside this room accelerate so that every second that passes out here, one minute passes in there!"

"That's nice…" Ryoko droned on still worried about what was going to happen to them.

"WILL YOU PAY ATTENTION TO ME!" Washu screamed.

"AHHHH!! Ok, alright…." Ryoko rubbed her ears as she tried in vain to stop them from ringing.

Washu sighed deeply while shaking her head, and then she eyed her erstwhile daughter. "With this machine I can have carrots for Ryo-Ohki all year around and I can actually watch how the passing of time affects certain items!"

"What do you mean?"

Washu grumbled, 'How can she have completely ignored me?'  Looking at her daughter she tried again, "I can manipulate the flow of time to move at varying rates, so I can see what something will be like after an hour, or day or even a month!  By compressing time even further, I can make a year or decades pass inside the room when only a few hours have passed outside!"  Ryoko's eyes suddenly lit up as Washu continued completely ignoring her daughters exited look on her face. "You see, Tenchi won't have to work in the fields all the time for Ryo-Ohki to have her carrots, I can have a complete harvest every week for her and maybe even every day!"

"How would it affect… people?" Ryoko suddenly asked as inspiration had struck, and not only that but a answer to her problems seemed to be right in front of her, 'If this can make that much time pass inside, then I can help him beat Yosho!  And if he beats Yosho then Ayeka won't have to leave, and Tenchi will be happy again!' Ryoko beamed at such an easy answer to their problems.

"People?!?" Washu gave her a perplexed look and began to think about it.  For Ryoko, it seemed that for once Washu's inventions might just come in handy. But, for her idea to work she'd have to convince Tenchi to try it out.  "Well since it is only the passage of time that is affected… anyone inside should not really notice the difference… though I would have to make some modifications to allow for sustained life inside."  Washu thought some more and began to ramble on about varying ideas. Ryoko was not paying attention to her mother, only how she would get him to get inside it with her.

For the rest of the day, Washu worked on her machines while Ryoko happily went about her day doing her normal thing, which included dodging chores, sleeping on the roof and thinking about Tenchi.  This time as she went about her day, she kept thinking and wondering how will she tell him about this, and more importantly will he agree to it?

That evening Ryoko went to sleep on one side of Tenchi very happy and excited about what could happen in the next few weeks. Washu had told her daughter that it would take her some time, but she could make the room larger and self-sustaining to make a prolonged stay inside possible.  But what really had Ryoko excited was after she had told her mother of Tenchi's duel the scientist started working on a number of upgrades to her machine.

For as happy as Ryoko was, Ayeka was that worried.  As Ayeka lay on his other side from the pirate she could not help but be concerned. Ryoko had told her that things were looking up, but she wouldn't say anything more on it. She didn't know about Ryoko's talk with Washu, or even about Ryoko's plan yet, and it worried her to know that Ryoko was hiding something, especially something that made her this happy.

'What is that pirate thinking about now!' Ayeka thought. For now, she decided that she would enjoy her time remaining with him, at least until she found a way around this. Though she hoped Tenchi could win, she had seen Yosho fight before, and had seen Tenchi fight as well. She knew that he was no where near as skilled as her brother.  Whatever happened, she decided that she was not going to forgive her brother for this for a very long time.

The princess made up her mind that the next day while in the onsen with Ryoko; she would make the pirate tell her exactly what was going on.  Usually, she would only see Ryoko smile like this when it had something to do with Tenchi.  Lying there, in his arms, although Ryoko was there too, Ayeka smiled.  'I wish I could stop time,' she thought, as it felt too nice to be held by him to truly worry about the future.

In the onsen the next day, Ayeka eyed her new friend and bed companion, and asked, "Ok, what's up pirate?"

"What makes you think something's up?"

"Oh nothing... you've just been smiling all night and humming all morning," Ayeka told her, then looked at her out the corner of her eyes. The pirate gave her that _cat got the canary_ smile of hers, which so irritated the Jurain Princess to no end.

But, then she could hear Ryoko grumbling, but she did not seem truly upset.  "Ok, remember that thing Yosho tricked Tenchi into?"

"How could I forget?" Ayeka rolled her eyes.

"Right, well…" she paused to consider things and she knew that Tenchi would not really agree to it unless she had help.  "Well Washu's made a device that…"

"NO!" She slapped her hand on the water to emphasize her point.

"What? You didn't even hear me out!" Ryoko couldn't believe it, was Ayeka reverting back to her pre truce mode.

"Absolutely not! Washu's machines never work right!"

Ryoko reeled in her temper and bit her tongue as the princess had a point. Taking a deep breath, she answered, " But this one can really help!  See all he has do to is step inside and then…"

"I'm surprised at you… you would let her put him in any of her machines?" Ayeka couldn't believe that with what Washu had put Ryoko through, she would allow this to happen.

Ryoko fought back the growl building inside her, she wanted to scream 'no way,' but there was no other way. Even if she could train with him every day for several weeks, it would not be enough to beat Yosho; he was too good. She sighed heavily again. "There's no other way…" 

Ayeka looked at her skeptically.  "What makes you say that?"

"I fought him, even at full power… I couldn't beat him… Tenchi hasn't even had half the training I've had…"

Ayeka felt anger and rage run through her to be suddenly replaced with sorrow, as she felt ice running though her veins. It was true, she knew it was. Her mothers had told her how he would beat the demon because of how hard he's trained.  He had to have trained a lot, as even as an old man he had been a match for Kagato, where Tenchi had been all but brushed aside. Tenchi's light hawk wings, and Tsunami were the only things that really saved them all from Kagato. But Tenchi wouldn't be using then when he fights Yousho. Slumping over, her hands stapled together on her lap, she asked meekly "What are we going to do?"

"Washu's made this thing that can… um, compress time."

"Compress time?"

"Yea, she said that she can slow time down inside… um…" She wondered how much should she tell the princess.  In her mind the equations and theories made sense, but how could she explain them to Ayeka so she will agree to it?

"I can compress it down even more than I used to."

Both girls jumped as Washu appeared in the onsen with them.  "Miss Washu! Please don't do that, you nearly gave Ryoko and myself Heart attacks."

"Yeah, Mom, don't you know how to knock!"

She snickered at the girls' surprise.  But she then focused on why she had come looking for them. "It started out as just one sixtieth of time, but I have refined it even more.  One I got past the time shift variable of…" She looked at the two and saw that they had no idea what she was talking about, the droll at the corners of their mouths was a good indication. She sighed. "So much for wanting to explain it."

"What does it do?" Ayeka asked politely, though she was worried about the explanation.

"It can compress time so that at its lowest setting, one second to us is like a minute inside the room.  But that was only the beginning!  I can make just a few seconds inside the machine seem like days, weeks years!" Here eyes glossed over at her invention.

"She makes every second out here seem like hours too," Ryoko remarked to Ayeka earning a giggle from the princess.

Washu, hearing the giggle looked at the two scathingly causing them to stop and pay attention.  "Here's what you two will do..."

"Both of us?" They replied in unison causing them to look at each other shocked.

"Yes, Tenchi won't agree to this unless you both can get him into the machine."

"You mean we have to get in it too?" Ayeka was terrified, and it showed on her face.  Ryoko had known that she would have to get into it to train with him.  Although she was scared, she was comforted knowing that he would be there too.

"Yes, how else is he going to rally learn?  I can program some robots and holograms for him to fight, but he needs to learn the right way to fight otherwise it will be useless."  Washu looked rather annoyed at that admission, and both Ryoko and Ayeka felt safer in not asking her to explain that.

However, Ayeka had one other thing she wanted to know. "Why…. Why do I have to get in?"

"Didn't you learn any of the Jurai fighting style?"

"Well, a little, but…" She looked around sheepish.  All members of the Royal Family were taught the basics of sword fighting, but she had never really studied them seriously, nor had she been forced to.

"Well Ryoko can't teach him all by herself." Washu huffed, as Ryoko looked indignant.  "She will at least need your help in getting him to agree to it. Besides, if he doesn't become better, then…"

Her head fell again as she slumped over, "I know… I'll have to leave."  Ayeka let out a groan of frustration, "Ok, what do we need to do?"

After leaving the onsen, Ayeka went to think while Ryoko went to find Tenchi.  It wasn't hard for her, as she could fly around easy enough, but Tenchi had not made it easy on her.  He wasn't in the field, the house, or even at the shrine.  Floating above the area, she scanned everything carefully looking for him and then she heard it.  She could hear the distinct thwack of wood against wood.  Following the sound she found him hopping around on some small stumps sticking out of the ground hitting a piece of wood that was hanging by a rope.

Landing on a branch she watched him and realized that something was wrong… looking carefully at him she gasped in surprise.  He had several bruised on his legs and arms as well as a number of cuts and scrapes.  'How'd he get those?' She wondered then watched as he fell off one of the stumps.  When he hit the ground he yelped in pain and she could see that he had been doing this for some time.  Her heart ached to see this. Forcing himself to stand back up, he kept trying.  But with the bruises he had, it was getting harder for him to maintain his balance.  Ryoko could feel tears falling as she watched him doing this to himself until she could stand it no longer.  Kagato had forced her to train this way, only he would beat her every time she fell.  At first she fell so many times, she thought she would be killed, either by the training or him she did not care, but she would not let him do this to himself.

Tenchi swung and swung at the little piece of wood and he could not help but wonder how was this supposed to help him?  'What kind of stupid training is this?  What is his problem? Why can't he just leave us alone?'  He swung again and in his anger he lost his balance and fell forward.  At first, all he could see was the ground and several pieces of wood that his face was heading to, and then there was nothing.  Putting his arms out he felt something soft, and warm.  Pushing away from it, he could feel arms loosening from around him.  Pulling back from the body, he was surprised to see Ryoko. 

Not only had she stopped him from falling, but she had moved them both to the side and his feet were on solid ground.  What truly surprised him was that she was crying.  "Ryoko…" he started and realized she was not letting him go.  She was not strangling him as she had before, but she kept her arms partially around him not letting go completely.  "Ryoko, I need to…"

"NO YOU DON'T!" She yell through her tears and held him closer.  He was truly surprised as she cried even more, but this time she put her head on his shoulder.

Sighing, he put his arms around her and tried to get her to stop crying. He was not entirely sure why she was, and in fact, he had only seen her do this a few times before.  The first time had been when he had given her back her gems.  It took a few moments, but Ryoko finally stopped crying long enough for him to talk to her. "Ryoko, I need to get back to training.  I'll be home later ok?"

"That's not training!"  She gave him a scathing look. "Just look at yourself, your bruised and bleeding…"

"Bu I have to…"

"Not like this!"

To say the least, he was surprised, she was arguing with him, of all things about training.  "I need to work harder, you know that."

"Would…" Ryoko began, and she thought about what she would say, "would you let me train that way?"

He looked at her and shook his head, knowing that he needed to train, and train harder, but this was not helping any.  "I don't have any other choice though…"

"What if there was another way?  Would you take it?"  She looked at him and he could see the hopeful look in her eyes.

"If there was another way, but I don't…"

"Then let me help you!"  She blurted out.  "I know he beat me before, but I can help… I have to do something…"

"Ok, we'll talk about it later, ok?"  She nodded reluctantly. "Right now, I have to go to the fields…"

"Not like that," she told him then wrapping her arms around him she teleported them away from there and back towards the house.

Of course when Ayeka saw him she was angry, at first with Ryoko, then him, but finally her anger fell on Yosho. "I WON'T FORGIVE HIM FOR THIS!  Not for a thousand years!"  She had screamed when Ryoko had told her what happened.

Tenchi kept his quiet as the princess exploded, though he did wonder, 'I wonder if she will hold him to that?  They are both almost a thousand anyway, so another thousand years isn't that bad.'

As the two played doctor and cleaned his cuts and scrapes Ryoko told him about Washu's device, he was against it at first like Ayeka was, but then she brought up his own words, "You said you'd let me help you.  This will help, please?"

"Yes Lord Tenchi, this device of Washu's sounds beneficial to us and you did say you'd let her help."

"But Ayeka…" he sputtered, "Washu's machines… they never… I mean sometimes… but not… and this…"

With both Ryoko and Ayeka working on him, Tenchi eventually caved in and agreed to at least look at what Washu had created.  The idea of actually stepping into her lab was bad enough, but to get into one of her machines… willingly… that was something he was very skeptical about.  Even if the girls assured him it would be ok, he was still worried.  For whatever he was feeling about the machine, he was equally confused about Ryoko.  When she had talked to him about it earlier, she had left both him and Ayeka in the dark as she tried to explain how the machine worked.

"You see, mom's made a machine that can change the rate that time flows," she had told him and not only was he looking confused, but amazed as she had unknowingly called Washu, mom.  "Most believe time moves at a constant rate, but if you can adjust the constant that time moves at you can increase or decrease the speed of time!"

Tenchi, and Ayeka blinked in surprise, but said nothing.  It was at that point that Ryoko noticed their expressions and said to them slower, "when you step inside one second on the outside is like a minute on the inside…" she grumbled at using Washu's words though the petite scientist was beaming with pride.

And so it was that Tenchi, Ryoko and Ayeka entered Washu's lab while Sasami and Ryo-Ohki kept Mihoshi busy outside.  "Well, welcome to my lab!" She cackled and all three of then suddenly had a feeling of dread.  "Right this way!" She directed them, oblivious to their worries.  Washu was still beaming on the inside at how her daughter had explained it and she knew that the theories that she had taught her so long ago were still there.

Stopping at the door, she opened it so that the three of them saw his fathers' house.  "But Washu…"

"I know, I duplicated the entire valley down to the organic level, but you three will be the only people there.  I also included the house, shrine, training grounds, onsen, fields…"

"How long will we be in there?" Tenchi blurted out.

"I will set it so that you will be in there for five hours our time, but you will see about ten hours inside."

"Then why…" Ayeka started and Ryoko nudged her.

"She said she added more, you know how she gets when she gets going."

"I heard that young lady!" Washu snorted as Ryoko grinned innocently.  Tenchi hid a grin, as did Ayeka. It was nice to see them acting like this.

Washu continued going on about the virtues of her machine and how it can sustain life indefinitely, but none of them really paid it any attention. Their only concern was to go in, train and come out.  And since both girls would be there, he was more than a little nervous.  Ayeka too was nervous but she hid it, though not very well, as this could very well be what saved her from having to go back to Jurai.  The only one that did not seem truly concerned was Ryoko, who actually was eager to get inside and being training him.

Nervously two of the three of them stepped through the door after Ryoko literally flew in, and once through they were surprised at how real things seemed, and not only that, but nothing felt different.  "If all goes well you won't feel a thing, but in the first hour time will accelerate, then you will have three hours to train and the last hour will be deceleration until time is parallel with the outside world.  This will give you ten hours to train, so make good use of your time!" With that, the door closed on three nervous faces.

Washu setup her system and activated the program, and she could hear a distinct hum from the other side of the door, but outside of that nothing else happened. Watching her controls gleefully, she monitored the acceleration of time for them, and she was glad to see things progressing normally.  "Oh this is so good!  All three of them in one place in my lab! A scientist could never have hoped for getting the three of them in one place at one time!"

"Why not Miss Washu?"

"AHHH!!!!" Washu screamed and turned around.  She then looked at the most fearsome destructive force in the eyes.  "What are you doing in here Mihoshi!"

"Oh I came to get you, Sasami's getting tired and Ryo-Ohki's acting funny… hay what's this?"

Washu slapped the blondes' hands away from the controls, "No don't touch that!"

"Owie!"

"Come on Mihoshi, let's… go for a walk… ok?"  It was the only thing she could think of, but if it kept the ditz out of her lab then it would be worth it. Besides, her machines could monitor the others easily enough.  Glancing back at the controls, she was glad to see that nothing had exploded or fell apart.  Banishing the control pad to ensure it was not tampered with further she escorted the blonde out of the lab. Once outside she realized that in her glee she had neglected to look at the time, already two hours had passed and it was lunchtime. 

Ryo-Ohki greeted them, but she seemed subdued, and she barely ate any of her carrots.

"Ryo-Ohki? What's wrong?" Mihoshi asked as Washu began to examine her. 

Washu soon discovered it was because her link to Ryoko had been cut. "Oh, I didn't think about that..." she mumbled.  'I wonder if Ryoko's felt anything different too?' She thought as the cabbit just cried mournfully while batting around a piece of a carrot.  "Don't worry Ryo-Ohki, she'll be back shortly."

Ryo-Ohki looked up and after seemingly cheering up she swallowed down her carrot.  Sasami too seemed distracted, more out of concern for Ryo-Ohki, but now she too perked up seeing the little cabbit eating. "Where did Ryoko go?"

"Huh?" Washu looked at Sasami, then smiled. "She and Ayeka took Tenchi to train with him… or was that train him? Oh well, they should be back shortly."

"Oh they left? I hope they didn't take my ship, I'd miss Yukinojo," Mihoshi babbled.

Barely able to contain a scream Washu told them, "They're just training in a special part of my lab, it kind of blocks out her mental connection to Ryo-Ohki though."

"Oh, so that's why she was upset," the little princess smiled and understood things better now.

After lunch Mihoshi helped Sasami and Ryo-Ohki clean the kitchen, at least until her fifth dish was broken and she was sent to watch her cartoons.  Since Mihoshi was not with Sasami, Washu kept an eye on the ditz until she felt something, like something was wrong, 'but what, and where?'  Deciding that she had better look over things she brought up her holo laptop and began checking out different parts of her lab.

'Well, the cages are fine… none of them are loose and the Masu cage has been rebuilt.  I still need to get more of them,' she thought and began checking other things.  Experiment after experiment she checked on and everything was operational… and running fine.

"Oh! What's that Miss Washu!"  The scientist jumped and looked to see Mihoshi looking at her screens.

"Uh, nothing… Wait a minute!"  She then checked on her machine that Tenchi and the girls were in.  When she looked it over carefully she nearly fainted.  "OH NO!" Her screens disappeared as she rushed into her lab.

"Miss Washu?" Mihoshi called then hearing the TV again she turned around and plopped back down in front of the TV squealing, "It's back on!"

Washu rushed directly to her machine and began looking over the controls.  Almost immediately she saw the problem and began bringing the machine to a halt.  "Oh no! This couldn't have happened… no way… please let them be alright!" She brought the machine to a stop and then began to survey the area.  First she looked at the training grounds and she was surprised as there seems to be hundreds of scorch marks on the ground and numerous small holes that seems to have been filled in repeatedly.  "Well at least they were practicing…" Looking over the area she began trying to track them and she was relieved that they were all in on place. "The house…" Bringing up her sensors and cameras she looked for them and she went cold as she realized where they were.

Opening the door, she cautiously looked in, Instead of having it appear in the living room, she connected this door to another closet.  Peaking in, her eyes went as big as saucers as the three of them were asleep… in one bed… naked!  Gulping she opened the door all the way and moved closer.

Ryoko's ears perked up when she heard a floorboard creak, but she did not move… not yet.  She waited until whomever it was got closer then she jumped up and ignited her sword while phasing into her battle suit.  The sword stopped right in front of Washu's nose and there it wavered for a moment.  The pirate couldn't believe it… 'She's here!'  Dropping her sword she wrapped her arms around Washu's surprised form and began hugging her mom.

Ayeka and Tenchi woke up hearing strange noises. When they sat up and looked around they saw Washu, and both rushed her to hug her.  "Oh Washu! Thank Tsunami you're finally here!" He told her.

Washu took a step back to look at them, all of them. Ryoko was the only one wearing clothes at the moment, as she was in her battle suit. Even that did not hide the fact that the three of them had changed. And changed a lot.  Tenchi had grown, and had developed a slightly broader chest; he looked more like a man now than a boy.  His hair was still the same though longer, and then as she looked at the two girls, well women now she could not hold herself together anymore, and she fainted.

Tenchi and Ayeka looked at themselves and then realized they were still naked.  "I guess it was a bit much for her," Ayeka said stifling a giggle.

"You could be right," Tenchi added. "Let's get dressed and get out of here."  After dressing quickly, Ryoko carried Washu out with Tenchi and Ayeka trying to help. Washu's machines counted five life forms leaving the machine before the door was shut after them.

To be continued… (I really mean it too…)

I could always use help with pre-reading the story before the next chapter is posted. If you would like to help please go   
I have the next several chapters posted there for my beta readers to help me on.


	6. It's About Time part 1

Tenchi Muyo: Choices & Consequences: It's about time…

I do not own Tenchi Muyo, or any of its characters or ideas, but I wish I did.  As for this story, it was written as a sort of what if, while I wait for OVA 3 and GXP to be released stateside.  I started on this after wondering, what if he actually did make a choice?  For those that have read the "True Tenchi Novels" that detail the backgrounds on the characters, I have not read those.  I guess you could say that this is an AU as I have made certain decisions on their backgrounds to fit my story.  And if the Character appear OOC, there is a good reason.

I want to send a very BIG THANKS out to Doug Dennis, Top Quark (Shadow Quark) and Chendzeea Li for helping me with this story.

From Last time:

Washu continued going on about the virtues of her machine and how it can sustain life indefinitely, but none of them really paid it any attention. Their only concern was to go in, train and come out.  And since both girls would be there, he was more than a little nervous.  Ayeka too was nervous but she hid it, though not very well, as this could very well be what saved her from having to go back to Jurai.  The only one that did not seem truly concerned was Ryoko, who actually was eager to get inside and being training him.

Nervously two of the three of them stepped through the door after Ryoko literally flew in, and once through they were surprised at how real things seemed, and not only that, but nothing felt different.  "If all goes well you won't feel a thing, but in the first hour time will accelerate, then you will have three hours to train and the last hour will be deceleration until time is parallel with the outside world.  This will give you ten hours to train, so make good use of your time!" With that, the door closed on three nervous faces.

And now

Tenchi Muyo: Choices & Consequences: It's about time…

With the door closing behind them Tenchi sighed and looked at them expectantly. Ryoko seemed to feel more relaxed for a moment before falling to the floor clutching her head. "AH damn it!"

"Ryoko! What's wrong?"  Tenchi asked kneeling beside her.

"I'll… I'll be ok…"

"Are you sure Miss Ryoko?"

"That's… Ryoko!  And yes…" Slowly she staggered to her feet.  "It was just so sudden, I can't feel them anymore… Ryo-Ohki… Washu…"

Tenchi maneuvered her over to the couch as Ayeka helped her sit down for a moment.  "Will you be alright?" Ayeka asked her and Ryoko smiled, it was different to see Ayeka act this way.  She guessed it was because they were alone now.

"Yes, I-I can feel them… barely.  Their thoughts are moving so slowly I can't understand them."  After resting a moment with him and her on either side Ryoko finally stood up.   "We've only got ten hours, so we had better use them."

"Are you sure you're ok Ryoko?"  He asked her and she nearly melted from the concern in his voice.

"Yea, I'm fine," she told him flashing him a smile, which he returned. "Let's get to work!"

The three of them went out to the training grounds and first Ayeka had him show them what he knew.  She said it was to, "demonstrate his knowledge," but her real reason was because she herself needed to see it to remember the moves herself. 

However Ryoko did not let him get through all his moves, as partway through them he felt a wooden sword tap his head lightly. "Ok, lets get this started!"  She then swung at him forcing him to react.

"Miss Ryoko! He hasn't show me what he knows yet."

"Damn it Ayeka! I said to call… me… RYOKO!" She accented the last three words with powerful swipes at him and he barely maintained his balance.  "Sloppy Tenchi, he'll have you for breakfast unless you work on your footing."

"What do you expect from me! You're a lot stronger than me," he complained though she gave him a scathing look.

"Look!  I've fought beings a lot more powerful than myself," she yelled back at him, "It's all in technique. How the hell do you think he beat me before?"  A tear escaped her eyes as she recalled that horrible experience.

"Ryoko… I'm sorry…" he started before she cut him off.

"Sorry doesn't cut it! Defend yourself!"  Ryoko then began to attack him and time after time she beat him, each time she drilled it into him what he did wrong.  She knew how to fight, Kagato had drilled it into her, but she would not hurt Tenchi.  Kagato had made sure that for every mistake she made, she remembered it painfully.

By the time the simulated sun was setting, Tenchi had been beat by her more times than he cared to count.  Both girls looked very disappointed about it, and he knew that he had let them down.  Slipping into the baths, he dropped heavily into the water, disappointed greatly in his own inabilities.  He had always thought that what his grandfather was teaching him was intruding on his life, and now it had become his life.

Looking up at the stars, he knew they were not real, they couldn't be. But Washu had done a good job in making them look real.  'Thankfully this day's almost over…' he thought then sat up abruptly.  "OH NO!  I sill have to train with him later!" he groaned out as he realized that despite how he was feeling Washu had said that they would only be in the machine for five hours.  "WAIT A MINUTE!"  Tenchi grabbed his pants, and pulled them on quickly running back into the house. "NO! No! This couldn't of happened…"

Busting into the living room, he was covered in water and breathing heavily.  To say the least he surprised the two girls.  "What time is it!" he yelled out forcing them to cover their ears.  "What time is it?!" he yelled out again.

"Jeez you don't have to yell…" Ryoko told him and looked around for a clock, but unfortunately there wasn't one.  "That's funny I'd thought there would be one in here?"

"Lord Tenchi… is there a problem?" Ayeka asked as she blushed. He was breathing heavily and his chest still had water dripping off it. She knew then that it would take a long time to get this image out of her mind, though she really didn't mind the view.

"Problem! Problem? Look outside!" he cried out frantically.

Ryoko looked outside and saw the stars and the soft glow of the moon.  "What's wrong, it's beautiful starry night?"

'A what!' her mind suddenly screamed at her.  "I meant it was just a starry night… I've seen a lot of them," she tried to cover up her blunder not realizing what she had said either time.

"That's just it! How long have we been in here?" He asked frantically.

"Oh, a few hours I guess, are you getting hungry?"

"Hours… only a few…" he said slowly as if it was a strange concept.

"Yea, we have a few more hours to train if you want? But I thought we could just kind of…" Ryoko stopped and blushed… 'Damn it… not now…' she told herself.  "I just thought we could relax for a while?" She tried again.

Ryoko guided him to the couch like he had done to her earlier, his mind seemingly not on what he was doing.  "Hay you're still wet!  Couldn't you dry off?" She asked sweetly before pulling a towel out of the air and began rubbing him down, attempting to dry him off before Ayeka pulled her hands away from him.  "Hay! What'd you do that for?"  Ayeka just motioned her to hush the pointed to him. They both looked at him closely. His eyes were wide open, and they have been for some time like he's forgotten how to blink.  "What the hell?"  She waved her hand in front of him and he still did not blink.

"Miss… I mean Ryoko do you know what this is about?"

"Not a clue… he just came running in talking about the time."  Both of them were very concerned about him and Ryoko silently wished that Washu would hurry up and let them out. Seeing Tenchi like this was very unnerving.  Laying her head on his shoulder Ryoko began to sing to him, the same song she had sung before to chase away his nightmares.  It seemed to work as Tenchi's eyes finally blinked, and then closed.

"Well, he's resting now…" Ryoko said quietly to Ayeka, only to find that the princess was asleep as well too. "I guess it works on all Jurains." She suddenly snickered and thought, 'Kagato would have had a fit if he'd known we could just sing them to sleep.' A shiver ran down her back thinking of that time in her life, she wrapped his arm around him, and she prayed that he could keep her nightmares away for one more night.

Tenchi awoke later as the first rays of sunlight poured through the windows.  Lifting up his arms yawning he realized that he had Ayeka on one side of him and Ryoko on the other, both were still very much asleep, and made no signs of waking up anytime soon.  Being ever so careful he extracted himself from between them and moved off the couch, replacing himself as their pillow with an actual pillow. 

Smiling at them, he said a mental thanks to Tsunami that he had them, 'I don't know what I'd do without them… well I'd probably be very bored.'  He chuckled at his joke and looked around. "Well everything looks the same… I wonder…" he trailed off as he went to the kitchen and noticed that no one was making breakfast.  At the thought of food his stomach began to growl and he realized that he'd missed dinner last night and possibly even lunch.

'It's a good thing I learned how to cook a few things,' he thought as he remembered how many nights he'd spent alone as his father worked late at the office.  Sometimes he'd order take-out, but he couldn't do that every night, so he learned how to make a few simple dishes.  When he had breakfast ready he set the table and looked around. "Something's missing…" Tenchi then began going through the house, slowly at first, but with each empty room panic started to set in and he began searching faster.

"Dad's room's empty… so is the princesses'… and Mihoshi's…" Full fledged panic set in and he was running around throwing open the doors and running through the house. "Where are they… we're only supposed to be in there for a few hours… are we still in there?"  He suddenly stopped and looked out the window at the sky.  Moving closer to the window, he felt his heart thundering loudly in his chest and then something seize up in his throat.

"Hay Tenchi…"

"AHHHH!!!" He let loose a scream as he jumped up in the air only to fall on the floor breathing heavily.

"Lord Tenchi?" Ayeka asked from beside Ryoko who was looking at him confused.

"Tenchi?" Ryoko tried again and he exhaled deeply and slumped against the wall.  "Are you ok?"

"I will be…" he said shakily.

"What's wrong? We heard you running through the house opening doors and…" Ayeka stopped as she regarded him. He seemed to be in the middle of a nervous breakdown. "Lord Tenchi?"

"We're… alone…"

"Alone?" The two said in chorus and looked at each other then him.

"I-I woke up and was wondering when Sasami would be up… she's usually up before me…"

"Sasami! Is she ok?" Ayeka asked and he shrugged his shoulders.

"She's not here… no one is here…"

Ryoko had had enough of this, "What the hell do you mean?"

He looked up at her and stood uneasily with them helping him. "Can you feel them?  I can't find them?"

Eyeing him skeptically, she closed her eyes only to have them fly open a moment later. "I can't feel mom!"

"Does that mean…" started Ayeka as she looked at the two of them carefully, and they both nodded gravely.  "But Miss Washu said…"

"I know what she said, but we're still here, the door to her lab is back to being a closet again," he told them as he felt trapped and scared.

"She's just playing a trick on us… or something happened… she said… she promised…" Tears began falling from her eyes as she remembered Washu having promised not to lock her up again.

"We'll be ok Ryoko…" Tenchi tried to assure her, though he was not sure how they could hope to get out of here.

Ayeka was very nervous as well, and seeing how Tenchi had reacted and now Ryoko, she was not very optimistic.  "What do we do now?"

They all thought about it, only to have his stomach grumble.  The three decided to eat for now and go about their day training.  They wanted to spend it in front of the door waiting for Washu to open it, but after eating and watching the door for what seemed like hours nothing had happened.  Tenchi had been the one to decide to train, as it would keep their minds off waiting.  However as the day passed, Washu didn't show up.  As they ate dinner, that night and then breakfast the following morning she still hadn't shown up.

Ryoko was pacing by the door, "What's taking her so long damn it!"

Tenchi wanted to say calm down, or don't worry, but he knew that would be a lie on his part.  He was nervous, scared, and worried as well.  "Ryoko?"  He asked timidly and she looked at him angry at first, but slowly her anger subsided.  After he saw that she'd calmed down some he tried to force his thoughts into words.  "You… you said you can hear their thoughts before… can you still?"

Closing her eyes and concentrating, Ryoko called to her mother, but received nothing back. "No, it's like she's there, but she's not." She thought about it and remembered what her mom had said about where they were.  "Since time is moving so fast for us, and normal speed for her… her thoughts seem… slow…"

"Better not let her hear you say that pirate," Ayeka snickered trying to lighter her own mood. Ryoko just laughed and Ayeka smiled, and it seemed to her that she'd been able to help.

"Well… So the princess has a sense of humor." Ryoko snickered as well. Tenchi smiled at the two of them and was slightly relieved.  "Every one in a while I can feel part of her thoughts, but they are…" she paused and snickered herself at calling her mom slow again.

"Can you tell how much time has passed to her?" Tenchi asked her trying to formulate a plan of some kind, but failing miserably as Ryoko shook her head.

The three of them then set about doing anything they could to keep busy and to not think about possibly being locked in here forever.  'We can't be stuck in her that long,' each of them had thought at one time or another, but time drug by slowly for the trio.  At the end of a week, Tenchi began to mark time off on a calendar, to show how long they had been in there.  Ayeka set about cleaning the house with Ryoko finally helping for once, as Tenchi worked the fields.  He was glad that at least they had the fields and the shrine as well.

Once Ryoko had actually flown to the top of the dome and to the edges of their world.  And found out that Washu was true to her word, that time.  The whole valley had been included in her design, which meant the world only included the valley.  There was nothing beyond that. The sky was artificial as Tenchi had guessed, but she could not get beyond it.  Thankfully, with the huge expanse of sky and ground, they did not start to feel claustrophobic, at least not yet.

As the first week turned into the second, all of them began to feel pressed in and many times Ryoko could be seen trying to find a hole in the sky, some little place for her to feel she could escape this place.  But no hole existed no escape was available.  Slowly over the course of that first month, they three of them began to wonder if they would ever escape this place.  Tenchi tried to comfort the girls, and they tried to comfort him, as each night they slept in the same bed, clinging tightly to the other hoping and praying that tomorrow they would be let out.

It was well over a month inside the unit that Ryoko found herself sitting in the onsen wishing she had some sake, or something to calm her nerves.  "Damn that Washu!  I bet she left the sake out on purpose!"

"Somehow I knew you'd say that." Ayeka droned from off to the side of the pirate, but she had to admit, a little sake would really help about now.  The two had been barely getting along and had it not been for Tenchi or the fact that there was no one else around to talk to then insanity would've claimed them a long time ago.

"Damn it!  I need a drink... something… this…" She threw her hands up in the air in desperation. She could not even say how this was wearing on her.

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this…" Ayeka mumbled just a little too loudly.

"What the hell's that supposed to mean!" Ryoko shouted. Over the almost absolute silence at times, they had started to discover that their voices seemed to carry or sound a lot louder than they wanted.

The princess grumbled a moment then shot back, "Just what I said, how could you have believed this would work!  This is an insane idea!"

"DAMN IT AYEKA!"  Ryoko shot up into the air, ready for a fight and Ayeka stood up as well.  "You spoiled rich brat!  This was all for you, I wanted him to be happy and this was the only way… I don't care, go back to Jurai for all I care!  Tenchi and I will be… will be… just fine… without…" She did not know if it was her anger or something else, but she could not keep her rant going, there just wasn't the strength left in her.  She felt alone, though they both were here.  'It's not supposed to feel this way… he was supposed to choose me and we'd be together, just the two of us… no one else.  I don't need anyone else.'

For her part the princess had been mad enough to kill the pirate this time, but the will to do so was not there anymore.  During their time here, Ryoko had been the only one she could talk to, especially here.  Even when he was around she didn't feel completely comfortable.  She couldn't tell him about her desires, or feelings without feeling embarrassed.  The three of them have been sharing a bed, for over a month and she was still nervous every night.  It was beginning to wear on her, in a most unusual way.  Like Ryoko she believed that he would choose only one, and that they would be together without the other present. But that did not seem to be possibly any more.

Tilting her head up to look at Ryoko, she saw something strange, the pirate was shaking, 'no she's trembling,' Ayeka thought. But what astounded her more was that tears were beginning to show.  'Ryoko's crying?'  Although Ryoko has cried before, Ayeka  could only recall one time before when she had made Ryoko cry, and she felt badly for both times.  Deep inside her, something was telling her to do something, something she could not stand to do, but she could not turn and walk away, and neither could she ignore it.  Finally, the wall within her soul began to crack ever so slightly.  She watched Ryoko cry a few tears while trying to maintain her anger, but it wasn't working.

The pirate floated in the air and without anything to brace herself with she was trembling and barely holding back the tears.  She wanted to go far away, just fly away from here, but she was so scared of being alone that she could not move away.  Ryoko's eyes flew open as she watched Ayeka lift her head up, and then slowly the girl began to open her arms.  'What's she doing?'

"R-Ryo… Ryoko…I-I'm sorry," the princess choked out as she fully opened her arms to the pirate.  She could not get the image out of her mind of how she'd made Ryoko cry; telling her that Tenchi would never love because of her age.  Even now, Ryoko had done this for her… she knew how much Ryoko hated being in Washu's lab, Washu had even shown her a part of the tape where she had locked Ryoko up.  At the time she thought it was funny, but now… "I'm sorry…" she said again and she was surprised to see blue before her.

Ryoko could not believe it, things have never gone this way, and she felt compelled to say something, anything. 'What do I say… what do I do?' Her thoughts were clouded and confused, and before she knew completely what she was doing the pirate had floated down to Ayeka, and had wrapped her arms around the princess.

Ayeka felt something swell inside her, she felt good suddenly.  Closing her arms around Ryoko, she comforted the pirate even more as both began to cry. Hate, jealousy, revenge and bitterness began to be washed away as the two wept.  Ryoko clinging to Ayeka just as much as the princess was doing to her.

From the doorway, Tenchi smiled.  He'd heard Ryoko screaming and he feared the worse, but he was not expecting this.  Smiling he turned away from them and he was going to go back to the field, but he stopped in the kitchen.  "I hope things get better now…" he said passing by the door that used to be Washu's lab, but he did not stop.  It wasn't until he reached the kitchen that he realized he'd passed the door without even looking at it or trying it.  A slow grin played across his face, 'That's the first time… we've always opened the door.'  Knowing this he continued his way to the kitchen, going back to the door was not even in his mind as he decided to make a special dinner for the girls. 

From that day, things seemed to really fly by for them.  Every morning and evening, the two girls would spend time in the onsen talking, actually talking about their dreams.  During this time, Tenchi would either be in the fields or making dinner.  The rest of their day was taken up with training, and he had to admit that Ryoko was good, really good, as his losses were starting to reach the thousand mark he was sure.  "I haven't even lost this many times to grandpa," he muttered more than once.

It was approaching their sixth month locked inside, and with each passing day, it seemed to be less and less of a prison.  To Ryoko, it was still too small, but to be here with Tenchi, and Ayeka, she felt, happy.  As strange s it sounded, she was, and she let out a quick chuckle over it.

Hearing the chuckle Ayeka smirked, "What's' that for?"

"Huh? Oh nothing…" she said as shs lazily drew circles in the water.

"Right," the princess smiled.  Ever since that day several months ago they had talked more, and openly about their feelings.  She leaned back against the wall; "He's getting better."

"Huh? Oh yea…" Ryoko and Tenchi had been spending the better part every day training.  At first, his resistance was meager at best, but he's steadily been getting better.   Over the past several months, it had taken her longer and longer to beat him.

"If this keeps up he may beat you," Ayeka giggled.

Ryoko snorted, "Well if you'd been paying attention… he almost got me today."

"He almost beat you?" She squealed happily.

"No," Ryoko laughed, "He almost hit me but he pulled back."  She sighed, and knew he'd have to forget who she was for this.

"He pulled back?"

"You're not even paying attention to the fight are you?"

"Of course I was…" she said defiantly, "for a moment anyway." She instantly regretted mumbling the last.

"That's it!  Starting tomorrow you're gonna join him!"

"What!"

"It's been a long time since we've fought princess… I'm going to enjoy this!' Ryoko said with a menacing grin that did not settle very well with Ayeka.

"Why you!" Ayeka stood up then laughed, as she had to admit it's been a long time since they've fought.

From that moment on Ryoko had two charges to train, and she did remarkably well against them, though he was getting tougher to beat. And then it happened.  It happened faster than she thought it would, and it scared her.  During one of her training times with him the fight had drawn on for more than an hour without either one tiring or scoring a single hit against the other.  And then the lucky shot came.  Ryoko had been really getting into the fight and even began taunting him, trying to get him to make a mistake, but it had been her to make one.  As soon as she realized the mistake it was too late and she was knocked over.

To Tenchi, it was a bittersweet victory.  He watched as Ryoko over-extended, and in doing so she exposed her side and he took advantage of the opening.  The hit had been swift, and hard, much harder than he anticipated.  He watched as she fell to the ground, unconscious.  "Ryoko! Ryoko… please wake up!" He yelled while cradling her unconscious form.

Ayeka had been to surprised to do anything, and even before she could stand up Tenchi had dropped to Ryoko's side holding her. "Ryoko…" she called softly.  A sudden cough caused them both to sigh relieved. "Oh thank Tsunami!" Ayeka breathed out.

"Ryoko, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to… I'm sorry, please forgive me!" Tenchi cried out.

Weakly she held him; "It's not your fault…" she coughed. Her side was burning and she couldn't move from her waist down. 

"I'm sorry!" he apologized again.

Smiling through the pain, she touched his cheek. "You're getting better."  He went to apologize again but she stopped him with her lips.  She wanted to reward him, for finally beating her, even if it hurt like hell.

Ayeka felt a tinge of the old jealously build up again as she saw them kissing, but it soon went away causing her to smile.  'Maybe she won't make a bad sister…' she thought.

To say the least, Tenchi was confused.  He felt sorrow, fear, and guilt along with joy, passion and love.  He held onto her like his life depended on it, never breaking the kiss as his feelings played havoc on his system, that was at least until she jumped. "Oh Ryoko, I'm sorry…" he began as he thought he'd touched her injured side again.  However, she had her eyes closed as she moaned again.  Hearing laughing he turned to see Ayeka then looked back at Ryoko as he felt something soft under his hand.  He then realized his hand was resting on her breast, and still slightly applying pressure to it.

"You know Tenchi…" she gasped out as he tried to remove his hand from her. "If I'd known how winning would make you feel… I'd of lost a long time ago."  She smiled sweetly at him as he finally removed his hand from her breast and he could not help blushing while both girls noticed his nose was not bleeding.

Taking his lack of blood flow from his nose as a good sign Ayeka felt hope rise in her and she felt her cheeks flush as well. 'It's been so long…' she realized, as Tenchi had not kissed them since before entering Washu's lab.  They've cuddled, and hugged, but not kissed, and with his nose bleeds gone, then they might be able to do something else.

Her hoped were dashed as he backed away looking very confused. "I'm sorry, it's not right I do that."

Ayeka helped the pirate up, "What? Why not?" Ryoko protested.

"We're not married… and it's not right... and…"

"Why is it not right?" Ayeka asked him which caused him to blush even harder.

"We're not married…" he tried again lamely.

"But we can kiss right?" Ayeka asked as her face flushed.

"Well… yes…" he sighed… "I'm sorry… I'm not ready for that yet."

"Could've fooled me…" Ryoko muttered.

That night as the three prepared for bed Tenchi still felt guilty over hurting Ryoko, although the bruise had healed.  He was more worried about her heart, as he knew he had hurt her again, so he took great care to make sure she knew he loved her.  His problem with kissing either of the girls was that after each one he felt light headed and he was in a state of euphoria that was indescribable to anyone, much less himself.  Neither of the girls seemed to not mind, and after the first few kisses he found out that something as simple as a kiss, could hold a power over him.

It started out with him kissing them each once in the morning and once in the evening, as they would be getting out of bed or back in.  But that was soon not enough, and he found that as he would pass one or the other while carrying something he would kiss them then as well.  Most of the kisses were not the deep passion filled ones, but that did not seem to matter, it was just the taste of their lips that he began to hunger for.

They kept this up for a while, but Ayeka and Ryoko began to want more.  To them, the wanting was more of a deep desire that needed to be quenched, but how was the big question.  Every time the two of them talked in the onsen, they discussed first his training, then Ayeka's and finally how to get Tenchi to do more than just kiss them.

"Damn I wish we were married!" Ryoko said in frustration. 

Ayeka agreed with her as she had wished for that more than once.  'More like every night,' she thought with a slight blush.  "If only Tsunami, or brother were here… they could marry us…"

"Does it have to be him!" Ryoko cried out in frustration, she still was not willing to forgive him for what he did to not only her, but to Tenchi now as well.  Ryoko sighed as Ayeka nodded her head solemnly.  To ease her mind she let her thoughts drift and she tried to listen for her mothers' thoughts again.  She smiled as she realized that it had been a number of months since she tried this last.  She let her thoughts drift about her mother and slowly she pushed more of her thoughts and power into it.

The world around the pirate disappeared as an image began to come to mind. She could see her mothers' lab, but the thoughts were still moving too slow to piece together.  Smiling she looked through her mothers eyes, then screamed at the top of her lungs.  Before she could open here eyes to the little world around her both Ayeka and Tenchi were there with her.

"Ryoko… What's wrong?" They were both asking.

"We're dead…" she muttered.

"What?"

Ryoko uttered a single word, a name known to them all, "Mihoshi…." With that one name both Tenchi & Ayeka went pale.  "She's… in the lab…" She heard a splash to her side as Ayeka had fainted, and Tenchi did not look to be faring much better.  "We're dead…"

To be continued…  I mean it…

I could always use help with pre-reading the story before the next chapter is posted. If you would like to help please go   
I have the next several chapters posted there for my beta readers to help me on.


	7. It's About Time part 2

Tenchi Muyo: Choices & Consequences: It's about time… Part 2

I do not own Tenchi Muyo, or any of its characters or ideas, but I wish I did.  As for this story, it was written as a sort of what if, while I wait for OVA 3 and GXP to be released stateside.  I started on this after wondering, what if he actually did make a choice?  For those that have read the "True Tenchi Novels" that detail the backgrounds on the characters, I have not read those.  I guess you could say that this is an AU as I have made certain decisions on their backgrounds to fit my story.  And if the Character appear OOC, there is a good reason.

I want to send a very BIG THANKS out to Doug Dennis, Top Quark (Shadow Quark) and Chendzeea Li for helping me with this story.

From Last time:

The world around the pirate disappeared as an image began to come to mind. She could see her mothers' lab, but the thoughts were still moving too slow to piece together.  Smiling she looked through her mothers eyes, then screamed at the top of her lungs.  Before she could open here eyes to the little world around her both Ayeka and Tenchi were there with her.

"Ryoko… What's wrong?" They were both asking.

"We're dead…" she muttered.

"What?"

Ryoko uttered a single word, a name known to them all, "Mihoshi…." With that one name both Tenchi & Ayeka went pale.  "She's… in the lab…" She heard a splash to her side as Ayeka had fainted, and Tenchi did not look to be faring much better.  "We're dead…"

And now

Tenchi Muyo: Choices & Consequences: It's about time… part 2

It took some time before Tenchi or Ryoko were able to rouse the princess, and it took them even longer to come to terms with the graveness of their situation.  At the time, all Ryoko had been able to see of her mothers' thoughts were that of Mihoshi and her being in the lab.  But that was enough, given Mihoshi's track record things did not look good. Tenchi and Ryoko could easily remember the mass destruction that followed the blonde whenever she was in the lab.  That one name brought reason to why they've been stranded inside for so long.

Once Ayeka was fully awake and once the reality of their situation set it the three did not know weather they wanted to cry or scream.  

Finally, Ayeka broke and screeched, "I'll kill her!"  With Mihoshi's tampering there was telling how long they could be inside this machine.  It could be anywhere from now, to decades or longer before they would see the outside world again. 

Ryoko heartily agreed, "Damn right! That ditz is going to get it for this!"

"Um, Ryoko?" Tenchi asked nervously.  "Can you maybe find out how long we'll be in here, or what happened?"

The pirate sadly shook her head, "No."  All of them sighed and depression began to sink in.  "Every time I spend a few hours consentraiting I am able to pick up a few random thoughts here and there, I took me over a week just to get that much!"  Tears began to fall from Ryoko's eyes while she spoke.

"Ok," he held Ryoko close to calm her down.  None of the three of them were thrilled with the idea of being stuck in here for years, but without a way out, or a way to contact Washu, they were effectively stuck in here until they were let out.  Tenchi and Ayeka could very easily see how Ryoko must have felt being locked in the cave for centuries.  They knew that Ryoko had been alone and in the dark, which was a lot different from here, but it was not much of a stretch of their imagination, when darkness overtook them at night.  "Do you think you could try contacting her?" he asked trying to calm both himself and her.

"How?" She asked sniffling slightly.

"Well, you might try sending the same message to her every day or so," he shrugged and tried to not sound hopeless.

"How will that help?" Both Ayeka and Ryoko wanted to know.

"I'm not sure if it will, but I don't want to give up." He told them.

Ryoko was not one for giving up, and as time passed, she would spend several hours at different times during the day trying to get more information from her mothers' memories.  Over the course of the next month, she was able to learn more, but most of it didn't help.  She could tell that Washu had got Mihoshi out of the lab, and that there were no explosions, but nothing else.  Ayeka and Tenchi noticed though over the next several months that the time Ryoko spent meditating seemed to get less and less and with each passing day, the three of them dealt with their new prison in the best way they could.  Tenchi would still make the meals, while Ryoko taught both him and Ayeka how to fight better.  Ayeka had felt out of sorts for some time, but she finally had come to see the house as her place to take the lead.

During the times Tenchi would be tending the fields, Ayeka would make sure the house was clean and that Ryoko was helping too.  She found it strange that the pirate helped with minimal amounts of prodding, and to top it off she even did the work smiling.  The princess took great care and joy in making sure that he didn't have to worry about the house as well as the fields.  Tenchi too was pleased with her efforts and he made sure to tell her on several occasions that he appreciated what she was doing.

Working in the fields gave Tenchi time, more than he needed to think about things. Most pressing on his mind was how to get out of here.  But as time has a way of doing, it passes before anyone really knows or realizes it is.  As time passed his mind went from thinking of how to get out, to what the girls meant to him.  "After we get out, if we can stay together…" he said as he worked the field. "Washu said she knew a planet that will allow us to stay together.  I wonder if this is what it will be like."  For the rest of the day and that night, he thought about that, and he soon stopped worrying about getting out of Washu's machine.  His life was simple; his days were spent training and working, then at night he was with the two people he loved the most, and he enjoyed it that way. 

Ayeka and Ryoko also were slowly realizing that they liked it here as well.  While Tenchi was happy to keep things the way there were, both girls were hoping to make some changes.  One day while cleaning the kitchen with Ayeka, Ryoko felt the need to talk about something else that was on her mind.  "Ayeka…" Ryoko started and then looked down worried.

"What is it?" The princess responded not taking her eyes off what she was doing.

"I was thinking…"

"That's a new one," the princess snickered at her joke though Ryoko grumbled.

"I was thinking… since we could be in here for…" she stopped and changed her mind. She didn't want to think of spending decades or centuries in here. "… We could be in here for a long time."

Ayeka stopped what she was doing and sighed, "I know."

"D-Do, you think we could get Tenchi to… to um…" Ryoko blushed and cursed her inability to get her point across, but judging from Ayeka's sudden blush she understood.

"I-I don't know.  I've been thinking that too."

"You have!"

Ayeka just nodded her head as her cheeks burned. "Yes, since… he…" she blushed again recalling how they had been doing more than cuddling in bed with him, but never more than touching or kissing.

"Do you think he would?" Ryoko asked hopeful but Ayeka shook her head, which annoyed her, "Why not?"

"He promised that we wouldn't do that…" she blushed even harder, "until we were married."

"Damn… but why does it have to be 'him', or your father?" Ryoko spat the reference to Yosho as though it was venom, and she didn't treat the Emperor's name any better.

Sighing Ayeka tried to explain; "Well my brother is a priest… even if he came up with that ridiculous test."

"But why your father?"

"Well, he's royalty, and as a member of the Royal family he can join people together in Tsunami's name."

Ryoko just grumbled some more and continued cleaning, but she stood upright suddenly dropping the glass she had picked up off the table.  Ayeka, hearing the glass break, looked at her annoyed, but Ryoko didn't get her a chance to speak.  "He's royalty!  That's it!"

"What's it?"

"Your father! If he can do that, can others do it too? If they're royalty?"

"Do what? Marry someone?" Ayeka thought about it then slowly nodded her head. "Yes I think I remember My Auntie Funaho doing it as well."  Ayeka's eyes suddenly lit up as Ryoko hopped in place excitedly.  "I can too!"  She screamed as realization hit her.

"YES!" Ryoko shouted and grabbing the princess, the two of them danced around the room.

Ayeka suddenly stopped and looked sad.  "But what about me?  I can marry you to him… but… but I want to… I want to marry him too!"

Ryoko's sudden party came to a crashing halt, "Well damn it…"  Ryoko then cleaned off the table and sighed, all we need now is Sasami or another princess."

Ayeka looked up sharply, "What was that?"

"All we need now is Sasami." Ryoko said.

"No, after that."

"Another princess?" Ryoko looked confused, "Great… just what I really need, yet another princess in here to share him with."

"But we do have one."  Ayeka said as she smiled at the pirate.

"What?"

"Do you remember when Tsunami gave us those gowns… she called us princesses…" Ayeka looked at Ryoko happily but Ryoko just looked confused.  "Don't you see? Once you marry him, then you will be a princess… which means…"

"That I can marry you…"

"To him!" Ayeka finished triumphantly.

When Tenchi got home from the field, two very excited and ecstatic women greeted him.  "Tenchi!" they chorused as one.

"Uh oh," he said; though he only meant to think it.

It took most of the night and several retellings from the two of them for him to understand what they wanted to do.  Both of them were very excited and both had wanted to tell him at the same time, in two different ways, but he finally discerned it all.  "So you want Ayeka to marry us?" He said to Ryoko who nodded so enthusiastically that he was worried about her head falling off.  Turning to Ayeka, he asked the same, "And you want Ryoko to marry us?"  She too nodded happily.  "How is that possible?"

Ayeka answered quickly, "As a member of the Royal Family of Jurai, I can join two people together in Tsunami's name, as is my right."  She beamed proudly at finally being able to do something with her title that would make her happy as well.

"But how can Ryoko then…"

"After we're married Tenchi dear," Ryoko began, "I'll be a part of the Royal Family too." She batted her eyes at him and Ayeka laughed at Ryoko's attempt of being cute.

"So, if Ayeka marries us," he said pointing to Ryoko and himself. He then motioned to himself and Ayeka, "Then you get to do the same to us?"  Both girls nodded and looked at him expectantly.  Both had been hoping for him to say yes, and then they could go ahead and do it tonight, but he surprised them.  "I'm not sure if that's right."

"What?" Ryoko was confused, as was Ayeka.

"But Lord Tenchi… you said you wanted to marry us… we said yes to you … and…."

He silenced her with his fingers on her lips.  "I didn't say no, I just said it doesn't sound right."  A soft smile grew on his face, "Let me think about this ok?  Grandfather's already upset that we just slept in the same bed, this would make him even more upset."

"But Lord Tenchi! Who knows when we'll get out of here?"

"Yea it could be centuries! I don't want to wait that long only to have things fall apart later," sitting back in the air as if sitting on a chair Ryoko let that sink in for a moment.  "Besides, if we are joined in the name of Tsunami, who can speak against it?"

"She's right Lord Tenchi," Ayeka added softly.  She had not thought about staying in here for centuries, but if that happened, as long as she was with him she'd be happy.

"Just let me think about it ok?"  He asked again and the two reluctantly agreed.  Tenchi did as he said he would, he thought about it, and for over a week he debated what could happen if they were married. Finally, on their anniversary of being in this small world for three years, Ayeka married Tenchi to Ryoko at the shrine, followed quickly by Ryoko performing the same ceremony marrying Tenchi to Ayeka.

However, that night had been very interesting for the three of them, as he found out that both of his brides had never been with anyone before.  Ayeka had been shocked at Ryoko's admission, but all the pirate had to ask was "who would sleep with a Notorious Space Pirate?"  Tenchi had wanted to step in at that moment, but before he could, Ayeka had agreed that it would be hard.  To Tenchi's astonishment, the two of them seemed to come to a quick and unspoken agreement on that point which allowed the night to continue without any more fights.  When it came time for bed, he at first, he had been very nervous and whenever either of them would touch him, he nearly fainted.  However, he soon got into the touching and caressing so much that on their wedding night, none of them went to sleep before consummating their vows and he made sure that neither of them could say they had never been with anyone again, several times over.  The three were very happy for quite some time together, especially since now at night since they were alone in their little world, they could leave their clothes off at bedtime, with delighted the three of them. 

Before the start of their fourth year, Ayeka had come to be almost as good as Ryoko in her sword fighting ability, and Tenchi had finally surpassed them both.  He got to a point where he could take them both on at once and win; though, it was never an easy battle.  The two of them always seemed to find some way to trip him up. Ryoko would use her normal seductiveness to get him off balance, while Ayeka would say at times that he hurt her.  And no matter how many times she used that ploy, he fell for it.  Several times the two girls made a bet between them that whoever lasted the longest got to be first with him that night.

Their constant training, both on and off the field helped in many ways.  As now not only would Ayeka and Ryoko compete in cleaning the house, but in his training and in other ways as well. But thankfully, for him they hadn't started cooking.  However, that too changed as one day they asked him to teach them how to cook.  He dreaded them cooking, but he found that when taught the proper way to cook they were actually good at it.  The hardest thing had been teaching Ryoko what the phrase 'A pinch of salt' meant as well as teaching Ayeka that, 'simplest is best.'  For them to live, and to be happy, he needed them to understand how important it was that it took all of them, working as a team.

Both of them had, after many trials, started helping him with the cooking and for several months, his life was good.  So good that he decided that, he didn't care if they got out or not. But that changed one day several months into their fourth year, as one of the girls started to get sick.  It all started one morning when he woke up.  Things had been good the night before, but lately Ayeka was having trouble sleeping.  At times, she was too cold, so she'd hold him very close, and not a few minutes later she was too warm and would pull away.  Tenchi and the girls hadn't thought much about it; but that morning as Ryoko sat their breakfast before them, Ayeka suddenly ran to the bathroom and proceeded to empty the contents of her stomach.

After a while she was back to her normal self, and it took a lot of convincing on Ayeka's part that Ryoko's cooking had not made her sick.  However, Tenchi began to worry, especially when that became a routine thing.  After a few weeks of her begin sick like this, he began to wish that Washu would let them out soon.

Even Ryoko was concerned, and she began to redouble her efforts at contacting her mother.  Almost two years before she had thought she's contacted her mom with a simple call for help.  Now she was trying harder, every hour sometimes between the hours calling for help, but it never seemed to do any good.

Ayeka, after going through this for only a few weeks, became frightened and irritable. With her fluctuating body temperature, changing moods and her other physical symptoms, Ayeka felt sure she knew what was happening to her.  After thinking about it for some time, she finally told Ryoko one day at the onsen what she thought was wrong.  "Miss Ryoko…"

"Ryoko," the pirate hissed back though there was no menace behind it.

"Yes, I think… I think I know what's…"

"Wrong with you?" Ryoko added smirking.

"Yes, well… I remember my mother going through these same… um, problems… before Sasami was born."

Ryoko nodded her head, "Oh, and what was the problem?"  Ayeka fell over in the water, and Ryoko thought she could hear the princess swearing as she sat back up.  "Are you going to tell me?"

"My mommy went through the same things when she was pregnant with Sasami!" The princess nearly yelled at Ryoko.

Suddenly the pirates eyes lit up with understanding, "You mean you're…" Ayeka just nodded, and Ryoko fainted.

The princess laughed a moment then hurriedly pulled Ryoko out of the water.  "Miss Ryoko?"

Coughing up water, she told the princess, "Just Ryoko…"

"Right," she smiled. "I think I'm pregnant… my mommy went through these same things…"

"I know… I heard you."

"Aren't you happy for me?"

"I… I…" Ryoko was not sure what to say, or do.  She had thought of the possibility of having Tenchi's child once before, but it wasn't until Taro showed up did she think any more about it.  But this wasn't fair. 'She's not supposed to be the only one…' she thought. The two of them had talked many times before and they had agreed that they would both get married on the same day, they would both be with him that night and she thought that this should be no different.

"Are you ok?"

"How'd you do it?" Ryoko meekly asked.

"What?"

"How'd you get pregnant? I-I want to…." Ryoko felt very self-conscious asking about this, but she knew that Ayeka was carrying Tenchi's child, and she wanted to know why she wasn't also.  For her part, the princess went red-faced at Ryoko's question, and she tried as hard as she could to explain how she got pregnant.

Starting that night Ryoko began trying harder to get pregnant, to which Ayeka just smiled and encouraged her on, though Tenchi was very surprised about it.  Sadly, she did not get pregnant, and as more time passed, she became more and more distraught over it.  Ayeka tried to help, but she could do little to comfort her friend. 

When Tenchi had learned that Ayeka was pregnant, had fainted as well.  After being roused, several times he was finally conscious enough to comprehend what happened.  "Grandfather's going to kill me," he said softly.  Both of the girls looked at him sadly and he sighed, he hadn't meant to remind them of that.  "Do you know when?"

"When?" Ryoko asked.

"Yes when is our child due?"

Ayeka swooned at hearing him say our child, and she began calculating things in her head.  "Not for another four or five months."  She said sheepishly.

"Then we had better get ready," he told them and smiled giving both girls a big hug.  Now that he was facing the prospects of being a daddy, with someone he loved he became that much more determined to never let her out of his life.

These things only further served to upset Ryoko, and late one night she found herself, sitting up in bed beside the man she loves, and crying.  "Tenchi…" she whispered quietly, "why can't we have a child too?" She asked the sleeping man.  "I love you… with everything I am… why can't we have one too?  Don't you love me? Do you love her more?"  Some of her earlier feelings and rivalry began to resurface, but she soon pushed those feelings aside.  The three of them had been through many things together, and even now, he was not showing any favoritism.  Her sorrow began to overwhelm her as she tried to think of a reason, any reason why it wasn't working.

"Ryoko?"  She looked up from her lap at the voice calling to her. It was Tenchi and she could see that his eyes were open and he was watching her.  "Are you ok?"  Had he been more awake, he would have seen the distress on her face and he would not have asked such a question.  She just shook her head though unable to reply.  Tenchi pushed himself up into a sitting position and placed an arm around her shoulders pulling her close to him.  "Tell me what's wrong?" He asked through the haze in his head.

"Why… why can't I have one?"

"One?"

She motioned towards Ayeka and he seemed to catch on.  "I don't know, but I'm glad you aren't having one right now too."

"What!" She hastily covered her mouth from the outburst.

The haze and fog gone from his mind, Tenchi tried to explain what he meant.  "I don't think we can handle two babies at the same time yet.  Maybe later… but for now let's focus on one."

"But Why?" She demanded, her feelings more than slightly hurt.

"Remember when Taro was here?" She nodded slightly remembering the little baby.  "If one can cause that much trouble, imagine the trouble two can cause."  He grinned weakly, and she smiled weakly as well. "I still love you, that will never change," he emphasized his point by kissing her lightly.  You'll have one… we'll have one… a little pirate.  Don't push yourself."

She began to grin at little more at him, she loved him and this only proved he still loved her, "but I thought you enjoyed my practicing?"  Ryoko winked at him and he chuckled nervously.

Blushing slightly he grinned back, "I won't complain if you want to practice more, just don't push yourself to hard. It will come, in time."

"Speaking of that…" her Cheshire Cat grin broadened and she leaned in closer.  "How about a little practice right now?"  He did not even need to say a word; he let his kiss answer her for him. 

As the two kissed and fell back onto the sheets, a princess slept beside them, smiling happily.  'I'm glad Lord Tenchi got over his shyness…' she thought as a strong desire for sleep overtook her.  She would have much rather stayed up, but lately at nights she always needing more rest.

Because of their late night activities, all three of them slept in the next day. After all, who was there to tell them that they couldn't?  However, this morning something different, something strange happened.  Ryoko noticed it first, and she believed it to be only a dream. In her dream, she felt Washu's thoughts, but this time they were more vivid and clearer than ever before.  And then it happened, a gust of cool wind blew over her, but not enough to make her shiver.  In her dream, she thought she heard a door open, and she could feel something moving closer to her.

Ryoko's senses suddenly went on full alert as she not only felt the breeze, but also she heard something creak close by.  Not even thinking of whom it could be she let it get closer, then the pirate rose from the bed, her sword and battle suit appearing on her with barely a thought.  Her sword moved to kill her target only to stop right in front of her mothers' nose.  'She's here!' Ryoko screamed mentally, then dropping her sword she wrapped her arms around Washu's surprised form and began hugging her mom.

Ayeka and Tenchi woke up hearing strange noises. When they sat up and looked around they saw Washu, and both rushed her to hug her.  "Oh Washu! Thank Tsunami you're finally here!" He told her.

Washu took a step back to look at them, all of them. Ryoko was the only one wearing clothes, as she was in her battle suit. However, even that did not hide the fact that the three of them had changed. And changed a lot.  Tenchi had grown, and had developed a slightly broader chest; he looked more like a man now than a boy.  His hair was still the same… though longer, and then as she looked at the two girls, well women now. Washu simply couldn't hold herself together anymore, and she fainted.

Tenchi and Ayeka looked at themselves and then realized they were still naked.  "I guess it was a bit much for her," Ayeka said stifling a giggle.

"You could be right," Tenchi added. "Let's get dressed and get out of here."  After dressing quickly, Ryoko carried Washu out with Tenchi and Ayeka trying to help. Washu's machines counted five life forms leaving the machine before the door was shut after them.

The three brought Washu over to her chair and sat her down in it.  It seemed that on contact with it she came alive again.  "Huh… what…where?" She looked at the three of them and then down at her scanner revealing that five had left her room.  "Oh gods…."

"Miss Washu? Are you ok?" Ayeka tried asking politely, but that did not get any results.

"Hay mom!" Ryoko yelled and she finally started talking, even if is was mere babbling.

"Three went in… five came out… only supposed to be 10 hours… how... not possible… wrong… something's wrong."

Out of her babbling, the three picked up on one thing, something was wrong.  "You're damn right something was wrong… we were in that thing centuries!"

"Ryoko," Tenchi admonished in a tone that Washu had never heard him use before.

"Ok, maybe it wasn't that long…" She said quietly.

"Little Washu, what happened? We were in there for almost five years, not ten hours."  She looked up at Tenchi as though he had just accused her of doing something terrible, well she normally did that, but this was not her fault.

"Yes, Miss… I mean Little Washu," Ayeka corrected herself, "Ryoko…"

"That's…Ryo…" Ryoko stopped then laughed as Ayeka had finally said it right.

"Ah, yes," Ayeka tried again, "Ryoko thought that Mihoshi was in your lab and…"

"She was… but she didn't destroy anything!" Washu objected then thought about it, "Well she did tamper with the controls, but as soon as I noticed it I let you out!"

"Where is she anyway?" Ryoko asked and Washu jumped trying to stop her daughter as she was heading to the door.

"NO! NO! NO! She didn't mean it… I let you out…"

"You misunderstand Little Washu," Tenchi started.  "We want to thank her."

"Thank…her…"

"Yes, you see while we were in there, Tenchi married us!" Ayeka squealed happily.

"Married…"

"That's right mom," Ryoko nudged her, "Say hello to your new Son and daughter in law."  The three held hands and Washu's system could not take this shock, and she fainted.

"Oh dear…"

"Hum, maybe we should tell her about you later, huh?" Asked Tenchi as he looked at Ayeka.

Before Ayeka could respond Ryoko broke in, "Well I don't think you need to do that."  When they both looked at her, she pointed to the screen showing that five had left the room. "She already knows you're pregnant."

"Well then I guess I don't need to go though any test or anything then," the princess proclaimed happily.

"Yep, let's get out of here!  I want to see the real sky!" Ryoko then picked up her mom and flew to the door followed quickly by Ayeka and Tenchi, who were hand in hand.

Yep again, it's to be continued…

I could always use help with pre-reading the story before the next chapter is posted. If you would like to help please go   
I have the next several chapters posted there for my beta readers to help me on.


	8. Freedom & Bondage

Tenchi Muyo: Choices & Consequences: Freedom and Bondage

I do not own Tenchi Muyo, or any of its characters or ideas, but I wish I did.  As for this story, it was written as a sort of what if, while I wait for OVA 3 and GXP to be released stateside.  I started on this after wondering, what if he actually did make a choice?  For those that have read the "True Tenchi Novels" that detail the backgrounds on the characters, I have not read those.  I guess you could say that this is an AU as I have made certain decisions on their backgrounds to fit my story.  And if the Character appear OOC, there is a good reason.

I want to send a very BIG THANKS out to Doug Dennis, Top Quark (Shadow Quark) and Chendzeea Li for helping me with this story.

From Last time:

"Married…"

"That's right mom," Ryoko nudged her, "Say hello to your new Son and daughter in law."  The three held hands and Washu's system could not take this shock, and she fainted.

"Oh dear…"

"Hum, maybe we should tell her about you later, huh?" Asked Tenchi as he looked at Ayeka.

Before Ayeka could respond Ryoko broke in, "Well I don't think you need to do that."  When they both looked at her, she pointed to the screen showing that five had left the room. "She already knows you're pregnant."

"Well then I guess I don't need to go though any test or anything then," the princess proclaimed happily.

"Yep, let's get out of here!  I want to see the real sky!" Ryoko then picked up her mom and flew to the door followed quickly by Ayeka and Tenchi, who were hand in hand.

And now

Tenchi Muyo: Choices & Consequences: Freedom and Bondage

It has been said that there are no constants in the universe. However, time is a constant; it is always changing.  Sometimes, it's for the better… sometimes for the worse.  Often it is hard to tell, until it has passed.  However, when five years has passed for some and only a few hours for others, problems begin to develop.  Such is the way things are for three right now in the Masaki valley, in Tenchi's home.

Her ability to fly gave Ryoko the speed advantage, so she came bursting out of her mothers' lab, carrying a passed out scientist on her shoulders.  Seeing an all too familiar living room made her worry, but not for long.  Sitting in front of the TV was the spaced out blonde ditz that she had not seen in many years.  "MIHOSHI!" The pirate shrieked, dropped Washu, and leaped at the confused officer.

 Mihoshi had barely turned around before she was knocked down by a fierce hug from the former space pirate.  "Um… good to see you too Ryoko…" the blonde sputtered, confused by her friend's affection.

"It's been ages since I've seen you!" She instantly dropped the airhead, other thoughts racing through her mind. "Hay, wanna go drinking?" Ryoko beamed, giddy at finally being able to get some alcohol after many years of forced abstinence.

"Um, but my show isn't over yet…"

Backing away and helping Mihoshi off the floor, Ryoko told her, "Ah, don't worry about it, you can watch it anytime."

"Um, sure… I guess we…"

"Great! You get the sake and I'll…"

"Ryoko!" A feminine voice suddenly interrupted. Turning towards the voice Ryoko saw Tenchi and Ayeka behind her at Washu's door.

"Oh come on!  It's been years!" she protested.

"Ryoko," Tenchi lightly scolded, "You really don't need to drink anymore."

"But Tenchi!" She whined, in a voice that Mihoshi had not heard her use before.  In fact, he did not look like Tenchi.  Well to her he might be Tenchi… if he was younger… and slightly less developed… and had shorter hair.

A voice from the doorway caught all of their attention.  "Don't spoil your dinner Ryoko, I'm… EEP!" Standing in the doorway was Sasami holding a pan of noodles.  The pan was suddenly dropped to the floor clanging loudly with its contents spilling out. Ayeka turned to see her, and Sasami, upon seeing her sisters' enlarged abdomen decided to join the fallen noodles.

"Oh dear…" Ayeka's concern was evident as they all looked at her sister.

Tenchi quickly moved to help Sasami off the floor while Mihoshi suddenly noticed Ayeka's stomach.  "Oh, Ayeka did you eat too much at breakfast this morning?"

Ryoko started to snicker. Quickly it became chuckling, and then she burst into an outright laughing fit rolling over onto her side in mid air.  Tenchi looked between his wives a moment then at Mihoshi before he lifted Sasami off the floor, "Oh boy," he sighed, "how are we going to explain this?" Ayeka, too, looked like she was about to bust, but not from laughter, her face a bright crimson from either holding back tears or a scream. "Um, Mihoshi… let's talk about this later, ok…" Tenchi requested.

"Huh? Ok," The police officer didn't appear to be sure as to what was going on, but if he thought they should talk about Ayeka's weight later, that would be fine.

He placed Sasami on the couch, and Ryoko quickly sat next to the little princess after getting her laughing under control. Mihoshi just went back to her movie since Ryoko didn't seem to be going towards the baths. Ayeka had spent the last several years helping prepare the meals so she ambled over to the kitchen to finish dinner. Leaning over the couch slightly, Tenchi kissed Ryoko on the forehead and she just smiled at the gesture before cleaning the noodles off Sasami.

After cleaning up the noodles, he went into the kitchen, where he could see Ayeka's shoulders trembling.  Approaching her, Tenchi placed his hands on them.  At his touch, his wife spun around and clung to her love tightly, crying out, "What are we going to do?"  She asked through her tears.  "Washu and Sasami don't know what we've been through… they don't know what happened… how… what…" Words failed her and she cried that much more.

Concerned with nothing else, he wrapped his arms around her in a close embrace. "We will do what we have been doing…  It… it may take them some time for the others to adjust, but it'll work out." Tenchi hoped he was right, and that things really would work out. Ayeka nodded and rested her head on his chest for a few more minutes.

Their peace and serenity was shattered by a very high pitched wail, "WHAT!!" The couple glanced at the door and then at each other. Before they even thought to pull away from each other, the owner of that voice came running into the kitchen. Sasami stood at the door, her eyes wide and taking in the scene of a very pregnant Ayeka holding Tenchi.  She could feel the confusion from inside her, even Tsunami was surprised, an amazing feat in itself.

"Um, hello Sasami," Ayeka started slowly.  Tenchi moved to stand beside Ayeka, but he did not let go of her completely, he still held her hand.

"I-Is it… true?" she stuttered and tried not to point at her sisters' stomach.

Placing an arm around Ayeka, Tenchi's hand rested on her stomach and caressed it lightly.  "Yes, it's true," he supplied for his now blushing wife.

"B-But... you're not even… and how… you weren't like this yesterday…"

Both of them chuckled nervously. "Well… you see…"

"Here let me try," Ryoko interrupted appearing behind Tenchi wrapping her arms around him gently. He was certainly glad that they finally got her to understand tight hugs are good, but being able to breathe during one is better.  "Washu made a room that accelerated time so that inside it, time moved faster."

"Why?" The confusion on the little princesses' face was readily apparent. She was astounded, this morning Ayeka and Ryoko had had another argument, and now they were both holding on to Tenchi and neither cared?

"Well, Tenchi needed a lot of time to spend training, so we thought this was a great idea," Ryoko replied while shrugging her own shoulders.  "But then Mihoshi came into the lab, and instead of us spending ten hours in there… we spent about five years in there." She was not sure if it was Mihoshi's fault, but one of the few things she had felt from her mom when they were inside the device was that Mihoshi was there as well.

Sasami mouthed the words 'five years.' Both Tenchi and Ayeka nodded.

"But you're still not…" She stopped when Tsunami spoke gently to her mind.  "You are…" All three of them nodded their heads.  "How?"

"Well Sasami," supplied Ayeka, "As a member of the Royal Family of Jurai we have the right to join two people together in marriage in Tsunami's name." 

Before Sasami could even ask, Ryoko jumped in, "So your sister married Tenchi to me, and by marriage I became royalty… so I married her to him."

"Oh… I see…" Sasami's eyes glazed over and she felt a fainting spell coming on once more.  It was truly a shock to her system to know that since this morning, five years have passed for those three. Not only that, but they are now married… all three of them!

Luckily, Sasami did not hit the floor because Washu was right behind her. She'd heard what Ryoko said, and came around the corner just in time as Sasami was falling. "Well… this is unexpected." The three just grinned weakly. "I guess that explains a few things too," she said inclining her head towards Ayeka, who blushed red some more.

"Mom…" Ryoko said softly… she was not sure how she wanted to ask this, so she decided to come right out and say it.  "Why didn't I get pregnant too?"

"Huh? Oh… well… you see…" It was not very often that the Number One Scientific Genius in the Universe at a loss for words, but for once the three finally saw Washu stumbling over her own tongue.

"Miss Washu?" Ayeka asked politely trying to get her to answer.

"This isn't going to be easy," she muttered under her breath.  'Are you sure you want to know?' She sent to Ryoko telepathically. To which her daughter only nodded her head.  "Ok… well you see… I never made you to be compatible with other species…"

"Compatible?" asked Tenchi confused.

"Yes, well Ryoko is… she's unique.  There's no one else in the universe like her."  Washu felt her heart sinking and she could not even bear to look at her daughter.

Ryoko was trembling… she understood exactly what Washu was saying. "You mean… I can never…"

"I'm sorry…" Washu fell to her knees trying to hold back her tears.  'I never wanted you to feel the pain I felt… I never wanted you to loose a child…' she told her daughter mentally.

Ayeka felt terrible when she realized what this meant. Out of the two of them, she alone would be the one to have children… his children. She knew of nothing that could be said to console her friend, and she unconsciously began to cover her stomach.  There was no way she could have succeeded, but she still tried to.

Standing between his two loves, Tenchi tried to think of something to do or say, that would help, but he came up with nothing.  "Isn't there anything you can do?"  Tenchi did not mean for it to sound as cold as he thought it sounded.

Washu just shook her head.  "Maybe in time I can find a way… I've collected samples of your DNA, and hers… even if I just tried to grow a child for you using just your DNA… it might not survive."

Ryoko's world was falling apart.  Since Ayeka had become pregnant, she had been looking forward to being pregnant too.   To be able to have a child, his child, had been her dream. But now all she could do is watch as Ayeka had all his children.  So devastated was she, that Ryoko did not even hear Tenchi's next words.

"What do you mean might?" He asked worriedly.

Wiping away her tears Washu tried to tell him, "She only has a part of her that's human, the rest is Masu… to introduce your DNA into it, it may become a child, or it may die."

"You keep saying may, Miss Washu," Ayeka added seeing a faint glimmer of hope.

"I don't know what would happen…"

"Is there a way to find out?" She asked before Tenchi could respond, as he was preoccupied with holding Ryoko who seemed to be unable to hold herself up anymore.

"Well… yes… but it will take time," Washu lifted her head. When she saw her daughter, and seeing how vulnerable she was, finally something inside her snapped. Tenchi could scarcely move a finger before Washu had not only grabbed and held Ryoko in a tight hug, but the little scientist assumed her adult form. Tenchi and Ayeka watched while mother and daughter held onto each other and cried. Through their tears, they heard Ryoko calling for her mommy, and Washu responding that she was there. 

This continued for a few moments before any of them spoke.  Tenchi was surprised, when he heard Sasami speak up.  "If Miss Washu thinks she can do it, I know she can."

Tenchi smiled, "You're right, Little Washu can do it."  The two, Washu and Ryoko, looked up at him from where they were on their knees.  "How much time do you think you'll need?"

Washu looked at him, then at her daughter. "I don't know… it may take a while…"

"Can you…" Ryoko started before her throat choked off her words. 'Can you really do that?' She asked mentally.

Washu nodded at her, "I will do it, no matter how long it takes." She smiled at her daughter; 'I'll make you a mommy.'

Slowly a wide smile spreads across Ryoko face; Tenchi and Ayeka have both seen this rather mischievous grin before.  "Y-You'll make me a mommy…" she said shakily, "and you a grandma."

"What!?" Washu didn't know weather to laugh or scream.  But hearing the others snickering lightly around her she answered her daughter, "Watch what you say Ryoko dear or I'll tell Tenchi your breasts are sagging."  She knew that would get to her daughter, it always has.  Though, she wasn't expecting the response.

"They aren't sagging Miss Washu, I think they're perfect."  All eyes turned to Tenchi as he spoke which prompted him to blush slightly while Ryoko turned redder than her mothers' hair.

"Don't you like mine?" Ayeka asked feeling left out.

Washu nearly fell over, as did Sasami. "Of course I like them," he responded kissing her lightly, "but I think they are beginning to grow."

"What?" The elder princess shouted and looked down at her chest.

"You know Sasami," began Washu, "this can't be the same Tenchi…" The younger princess could only agree as Ayeka opened her kimono slightly to examine herself.

"They are bigger!"

"Um, Ayeka, how far along are you?" Washu asked her trying hard not to laugh.

"I… don't know several months at least."  She began to think about it, "I first started feeling sick about five or six months ago."

Bringing up her computer, Washu scanned the princess quickly and then snickered.  "Well it looks like you are nearing the end of the pregnancy; your breasts have been getting bigger all along.  I am surprised you are just now noticing."  She cast a glance at Tenchi who looked away whistling and blushing. "I see, so he noticed, and was enjoying them."

"Mom!" Ryoko called out covering Sasami's ears.

"What? Don't tell me he hasn't been."

"Um, yea… well I think I'll go out to the fields now…" Tenchi began and tried to move towards the door.

"Oh wow Ayeka! You're gonna be a mommy soon!" Sasami cried out as she hopped around the room, "Mommy will be so happy!  And Nobuyuki will too!  I wonder what brother will say?"  Sasami's celebration came to an abrupt halt and the mood changed in the room as well.

"I guess we need to tell him," Tenchi glanced nervously at his wives. They nodded back though Ryoko was still wiping a few errant tears out of her eyes.  "Are you ready to go? We might as well get this over with."

Ayeka patted her stomach, "I can bet I know what he says about this."

Ryoko half grinned, and put her hands on her hips as she floated up into the air, to do an impression of Yosho, "Tenchi, how could you dishonor her like that!"

The others laughed at her antics, but it still did not ease Tenchi's mind as he thought about what he was going to tell his grandfather.  Finally resigning himself to his fate, Tenchi started to leave, and then turned towards his wives.  "It's time we go talk to him."

"But Tenchi!" Ryoko complained, "We're having so much fun."

"Yes Tenchi, this has been very interesting," added Ayeka.

"I know, but we need to go…" His rambling quit when he saw Washu and Sasami staring at him open mouthed and wide-eyed.  He raised an eyebrow and asked, "Is there a problem?"

Sasami shook her head; "You are just so different Tenchi… I-I never thought you'd act like this."

"Yea Tenchi," Washu put in, "You're supposed to still act like that innocent kid that ran away from things."

Tenchi just grinned; something else that the others thought was different.  "Well, I guess I have changed… but I'm not going back." He studied Ryoko then Ayeka with her protruding stomach, "… I won't go back… not to what I was before."  Taking his wives hands he told Washu and Sasami, "I guess you'll just have to get used to the new me.  My wives did."

Ryoko kissed his left cheek, while Ayeka kissed his right one and announced, "I wouldn't change a thing, my Tenchi."

"I would," Ryoko added, and just about everyone knew what she would change, but she surprised all of them, "I'd prefer to stay in there a few more years."

Laughing slightly Tenchi moved in to kiss their cheeks, but at the last moment, he stopped.  Washu saw him grin before he kissed Ryoko, then Ayeka on the lips.  He then led his starry-eyed wives out the door towards the shrine leaving Washu and Sasami staring at him in shock. He was used to walking hand in hand with the girls and it was something that he has enjoyed for several years. But as they walked up the steps, he noticed that this time things were slightly different. The sky was a lot clearer and certainly more beautiful than any sky he had seen for the past five years. 

However, that did not keep his spirits high for long.  With each and every step, he was heading to what he knew would be a very volatile confrontation.  His worrying about the present made the past five years all too surreal; it never really occurred to him what he would do now. Especially since they were married now, and he was going to soon be a father.

Pushing his fears away, the prince concentrated on what he needed to do and say. He would never pass it off as a mistake, or something that happened in the spur of the moment. In truth, he's had several years to think about it. After his final decision, he had almost two years to enjoy it. Reaching the top, the three of them looked around. Having not seen Yosho, they figured he was in his office.

"And what brings you three up here?" A masculine voice called from beside them.

Tenchi and Ryoko turned to see Yosho standing off to one side. Ayeka was glad that, for the moment, both of them were blocking his view of her.  However, she knew that they could not hide the truth.

"Grandfather, I… we…" Tenchi swallowed hard and decided on what to do.  "We need to talk."

"What is on your mind?"  Yosho asked and he began to study them, especially Tenchi.  He had changed a lot more than he thought possible in just a few hours.

"This may be hard to handle at first...." he would have rambled on but his throat suddenly constricted. He knew what he wanted to say but starting it off was something else entirely.

"My Mom made a machine for us to train in," Ryoko jumped in while Tenchi smiled gratefully at her.

"Oh," Yosho said amused, and he knew that only Washu could be responsible for the changes, but what did she do he asked himself.

Tenchi gathered his courage, "Yes, you see grandfather; Ryoko thought it would be good for us to practice together."

"You are not saying something is all their fault is it?"

"No!" Tenchi shook his head vigorously. "All they did was tell me about it and I thought it sounded like a good idea. So the three of us went into Washu's… um…" He tried to come up with its name before asking Ryoko softly, "What did she call that thing?"

"It's a Time Compressor." Smiling as she conjured a mental image of herself in a Science Academy uniform, alongside her mother while lecturing a class, the pirate added, "It compresses time so that time inside moves at a faster rate than time outside. We were going to only train for ten hours inside which would be the equivalent of five hours outside."

After the explanation, Tenchi and Yosho both looked on amazed, her husband could definitely tell that she had a lot of her mother in her. "Well, originally," he recalled the past five years and smirked. "However, things didn't go as we planned and we were in there for much longer."

Yosho walked closer and scrutinized the physical differences in Tenchi. Not only had he grown a few inches, but also his hair was longer, and he appeared manlier.  "I see.  You look older now…"

"Yes, by five years," Ayeka added from behind Tenchi and Ryoko.  Yosho noticed that his sister had aged as well.

"Five years?" The priest asked, amused.

"Yes and a lot happened during that time," Ayeka added as she stepped to Tenchi's other side.

Instantly, Yosho noticed her stomach, causing his eyes to widen with shock. This had been the first time for the three of them to see him truly surprised. Yosho was not even this astounded when he found out that Tenchi had given Ryoko back her gems. "Y-you…" his hand rose shakily, pointing at her stomach, then at him. It was this point, that all of them knew what would happen. "HOW COULD YOU?!" He screamed in outrage. Tenchi's head hung low, but not from shame. "How could you defile her?!" Before Tenchi could even look back up, Yosho taken out his bokken to teach his grandson a lesson

However, three things happened that Yosho had not expected. First, Tenchi didn't even attempt to flinch away nor dodge the blow. Second, the bokken never touched the boy as Ryoko's sword had stopped Yosho's. Thirdly, Ayeka yanked the bokken out of her brothers' hands and snapped the oaken blade in half.

"He did not defile me brother!  I gave myself to him." She tossed the wooden pieces to the ground and a hint of a smile formed on Tenchi's lips.

In all his years, he had not envisioned anything like this, "How could you do this?"

"After spending over three years in there, the girls talked to me about marriage.  I debated it for several months before I gave them my answer. After I told them my answer, Ayeka married Ryoko to me in the name of Tsunami, as a member of the Royal Family of Jurai."

The priest's eyes shot over to Ryoko who was smiling smugly, "Surprise… brother."  She had never seen him so lost for words, but she keep things going.  "Then as a member of the Royal Family, I married Ayeka to Tenchi in Tsunami's name as well."  Tenchi could not help but smile at the proud and beaming look Ryoko had.

"So you're… married…"

"Yes," Tenchi told him, "for nearly two years, and Ayeka only found out a couple of months ago that she was expecting.  Nothing happened between us until after we were married."  Leveling a look at his grandfather he added, "Her honor is intact, as it has always been."

Yosho's mind was reeling from this new information. 'This wasn't supposed to have happened… I only made the challenge to make him realize that he needed to take a stand… and to take his training seriously.' Coming back to the present, the Shinto priest noticed that Tenchi had his arms wrapped around both of the girls and all three of them were happy. 'He's grown up… he's a man now,' Yosho, too, smiled as he gazed upon his family. "I see in those five years have taught you what I could not." He watched the two girls, well women now, and smiled, though Tenchi grinned embarrassed. "I see they still have a few things to work on."

All of them laughed at that while Tenchi blushed.  "Tell me Tenchi, have you got over your nose bleeds?  I find it hard to think my sister got this way with you like that."

"Ah… well… um…" Tenchi stuttered, trying to find words to respond, but nothing seemed to come to mind. However, Ayeka and Ryoko were laughing and assuring Yosho that Tenchi has been over his nosebleeds for some time.

Out in space near Saturn, an old man looked at his display.  "Sir everything is ready," called one of the crewmen from behind him.

"Very well," he acknowledged before stepping into the light. The gray, curled ends of his beard had similarities to the tendrils of a certain sea creature. Scanning his displays once more, the old man finally gave the order. "Ok, activate the gems, and bring her here. I want her kept immobile, but not harmed."

"Aye Sir!" Chorused around the bridge, and his henchmen began working on their terminals.

"Soon Washu! You and that boy will feel my vengeance!" The ship shuddered once as it came to life, journeying out of the ice belt. From their hiding spot in the dark side of the planet, their cover made it impossible for them to monitor the earth all of the time.

Back on Earth the four were still at the shrine, "Tenchi you understand that we still have to have the duel, honor still demands it."

"Yes grandfather I know, I…" he trailed off as Ryoko fell to her knees.  "Ryoko?"

"AHHH!!! DAMN IT! It hurts…." Her head lifted up and there was a green tint to her eyes.

"Ryoko!" they all shouted. Yosho readied himself for a fight; he knew those green eyes quite well. Tenchi tried to put his hand on her shoulder but she shoved it away, only hate and malice lined her features now. She looked all around before she flew up into the air and disappeared.

"RYOKO!" Tenchi shouted again, desperately, but his plea was only answered by the wind.

To be continued…

Hay this is starting to get good… I think.

I could always use help with pre-reading the story before the next chapter is posted. If you would like to help please go   
I have the next several chapters posted there for my beta readers to help me on.


	9. Bondage and Pain

Tenchi Muyo: Choices & Consequences: Bondage and Pain

I do not own Tenchi Muyo, or any of its characters or ideas, but I wish I did.  As for this story, it was written as a sort of what if, while I wait for OVA 3 and GXP to be released stateside.  I started on this after wondering, what if he actually did make a choice?  For those that have read the "True Tenchi Novels" that detail the backgrounds on the characters, I have not read those.  I guess you could say that this is an AU as I have made certain decisions on their backgrounds to fit my story.  And if the Character appear OOC, there is a good reason.

I want to send a very BIG THANKS out to Doug Dennis, Top Quark (Shadow Quark) and Chendzeea Li for helping me with this story.

From Last time:

Out in space near Saturn, an old man looked at his display.  "Sir everything is ready," called one of the crewmen from behind him.

"Very well," he acknowledged before stepping into the light. The gray, curled ends of his beard had similarities to the tendrils of a certain sea creature. Scanning his displays once more, the old man finally gave the order. "Ok, activate the gems, and bring her here. I want her kept immobile, but not harmed."

"Aye Sir!" Chorused around the bridge, and his henchmen began working on their terminals.

"Soon Washu! You and that boy will feel my vengeance!" The ship shuddered once as it came to life, journeying out of the ice belt. From their hiding spot in the dark side of the planet, their cover made it impossible for them to monitor the earth all of the time.

Back on Earth the four were still at the shrine, "Tenchi you understand that we still have to have the duel, honor still demands it."

"Yes grandfather I know, I…" he trailed off as Ryoko fell to her knees.  "Ryoko?"

"AHHH!!! DAMN IT! It hurts…." Her head lifted up and there was a green tint to her eyes.

"Ryoko!" they all shouted. Yosho readied himself for a fight; he knew those green eyes quite well. Tenchi tried to put his hand on her shoulder but she shoved it away, only hate and malice lined her features now. She looked all around before she flew up into the air and disappeared.

"RYOKO!" Tenchi shouted again, desperately, but his plea was only answered by the wind.

And now

Tenchi Muyo: Choices & Consequences: Bondage and Pain

In the distance, they could hear the familiar cry of Ryo-Ohki, but this time her cry filled them with sadness, for her mourning and tears could be heard.  Her cries of sadness echoed over the hills, but she was not seen, and neither was Ryoko.   Tenchi, Ayeka and Yosho stood there for several minutes looking up to where Ryoko had disappeared. A sense of dread passed through them, but none knew what really was going on.

"Tenchi…" Ayeka asked quietly, "What happened?"

"I don't know… I hope Washu will know."

As if on cue a black portal appeared in front of them and Washu jumped out. "Ryoko… Where is she?"

Tenchi pointed up to the sky; "She screamed again, then she left…" He shook his head trying to clear his confusion. "What's going on?"

"I don't know yet, but a few moments ago my sensors picked up a ship near Saturn…" Her voice dropped off and the three were sure that she was scared of what she saw.

"And?" Tenchi prodded.

"And, the ship… is the Soujya," the scientist finished quietly.

"WHAT? No way! I destroyed that thing!" He screamed at her.

"It's been rebuilt… And…."

"And?" Ayeka asked when Tenchi's voice failed him.

Her head fell when she told them, "And… I detected the controlling gems on it."

"Controlling gems?"

"Yes, they were designed by him to control and pull power from Ryoko's gems."

"AYEKA!!! TENCHI!!!" The two turned to see Sasami running towards them crying. They did not even have to guess, they knew from earlier that Ryo-Ohki was gone too.

"What are we going to do now?" The elder princess asked.

Looking back up at the sky Tenchi decided, "The same thing we always do, we go after her."

"This is getting to be a bad habit," Ayeka mumbled dryly.

"Washu…" Tenchi started to say, but he wasn't sure what to ask.

"Miss Washu," Yosho broke in, "Isn't there a way to prevent her from begin controlled?"

Washu huffed, "Yes, but she won't let me do it."

"Why not?" Sasami asked her eyes still full of tears.

Ayeka cut the petite scientist a disapproving look, "Because she won't just do what she needs to and has to torment Ryoko by leaving her in the dark and locked up over night," Washu looked back at Ayeka disdainfully.  "Ryoko told me what you did to her before, she told us all. That's why she's scared of the dark and being alone."  Ayeka was beyond angry, "all of this could have been avoided if Washu had actually acted like a mother, and not a scientist.  I've listened to her at nights, the crying, and the whimpering. Even with both Tenchi and I there, she's still scared."

"I apologized for that already!" Washu shouted, but it didn't even faze the princess.

"How could you! You did this to her! You let her be controlled and… and… AHHH!" She could not continue her rant as a sharp pain went thorough her stomach.

"Ayeka!" Tenchi and Sasami went to her side to hold her up.

"Tenchi… what's… AH! Wrong…" She continued to hold herself, but the pain was increasing.

Moving closer, Washu took Sasami's place and placed her hand on the princess' stomach.  "It looks like the stress is causing contractions.  We need to get you to my lab."

"What? It's not time yet… I still have two months…" Another sharp pain cut her protest short.

"Washu," she looked over at Tenchi. "Take her to the lab; since Ryoko took Ryo-Ohki I'm going to get Mihoshi and we will go after Ryoko in her ship."

"Tenchi…" He looked down at Ayeka when she called to him. "Bring her back…"

"I will, just go with Washu, ok?" She nodded her head and he turned to Sasami, "Go with your sister, she'll need you too."

"Ok Tenchi."

The three girls vanished inside the portal and Tenchi started to run to the house when Yosho stopped him. "Tenchi!"

"Not now grandfather."

"Yes now." Tenchi turned to see his grandfather smiling.  "You have grown a lot since yesterday, but there is still much you have to learn."

"I know, but I have to go get her."

"That is not what I mean, when you fight, it is all or nothing, if you stop before you are done, then you will surely loose."

"What?" he looked at his grandfather confused, but then when Yosho turned away, Tenchi shrugged his shoulders and ran down the steps to the house.  Bursting into the house, he saw Mihoshi watching the TV, as usual. "Mihoshi!"

"Ahhh!!" She jumped up screaming.

"Sorry, I need to borrow your ship."

"Huh? My ship, but you can't go anywhere with it, it's strictly prohibited for anyone besides a Galaxy Police officer to fly the ship…"

"OK!" He said interrupting her, "Will you take me in it?"

"Take you…" She suddenly blushed, "Oh Tenchi I thought you'd never ask… but this is kind of forward, and you said that you were married to Ayeka and Ryoko… how would they feel if I was to do that?"

"What?"  He thought about what he said and groaned, "No, I need you to help me… someone's kidnapped Ryoko!"

"Kidnapped? But she's not a kid anymore… I know to Washu she is, but she's over five-thousand years old and…"

"MIHOSHI!"  She stopped and looked at him scared, which caused him to regret yelling at her, but he had to do something. "Look, someone has taken Ryoko against her will; we need to go after them… will you help me?"

"Oh, of course I will!" she grabbed her cube and giving it a quick turn she was dressed in her uniform, then with another they both were aboard her ship.  "Do you know which way they went?"

He shook his head sadly, "NO, but I know Ryo-Ohki was flying, can you track her?"

Washu interrupted, "That won't be necessary," a view screen appeared with her face on it.

"Why's that?"

"Whoever took over Ryoko's body is using her to have Ryo-Ohki fly away from the planet, but Ryo-Ohki's sending back a beacon for someone to follow. Seems this time Ryo-Ohki isn't completely under their control too, but she is still obeying Ryoko."

"Do they know she is?" Mihoshi asked the ship when it took off into the air and Tenchi held onto the chair as though his life depended on it.

"I don't see how they couldn't… I think anyone in three systems can pick up her distress signal," Washu shrugged and Tenchi had a very bad feeling.

"So we're flying into a trap?" Mihoshi added while rubbing her chin thinking. This action had both Tenchi and Washu watching her carefully.  "Ok!" She squealed happily, "Let's get going!"

Washu fell over and out of view while Tenchi fell back into a chair groaning.  "Why did I think things would be different…"

"Yukinojo!" Mihoshi called sweetly. Tenchi watched a metallic head dropped down from the ceiling.

"Yes Miss Mihoshi."

"HI! Um, are you picking up a signal?"

"If you mean the Distress Signal sent by the Ryo-Ohki, then yes. I have plotted our course to follow them, but they are moving faster than we can, so we will have to wait for them to stop to catch up."

"Oh good!"

"Can't we take a short cut or something?" Tenchi asked.

"Mihoshi, regulation specifically states that no-one but Officers are allowed on the bridge unless given special permission by Galaxy Police Headquarters."

Tenchi stepped forward, 'If Ryoko can accept her being a princess, then I can be a prince for a moment,' he thought then looked at the small head. "I am Prince Tenchi Masaki, Grandson of Yosho Jurai and Heir to the Throne of Jurai. I know you are under orders to accept commands from the Royal Family as well."

The little head had a bead of sweat running down its head and Tenchi had to wonder if a machine could really do that.  "Yes Your Highness… I apologize… please make yourself comfortable."  It then looked at Mihoshi, "Is this the Tenchi you were talking about before?"  She nodded her head smiling and Tenchi swore he heard the thing gulp, even though it didn't have a throat.

The ship took off much faster than it had ever left the planet in the past, with a Jurai Prince on board it wanted to make up for it's previous mistake.  Tenchi was grateful about it, even if he hated using his title to force someone, well in this case something, to do what he wanted. Following the beacon, Tenchi was able to find out that it was making a straight line for Saturn, so there were no possible shortcuts.

"Miss Mihoshi…" The robot named Yukinojo queried.

"Yes?"

"The signal has stopped, but the last known location was by Saturn, there appears to be a ship of some sort near there that the Ryo-Ohki has docked with."

"Is the ship moving?"  Tenchi asked, and he was relieved when the ship responded no.  "Ok, that should be the rebuilt Soujya from what Washu said earlier…"

"But that's impossible, during our reports to headquarters they said that the parts were confiscated and locked away!" Yukinojo protested, and Tenchi was sure had the thing had arms it would have been flailing them about.

"Look for yourself, what ship is it?"  Both Mihoshi and Yukinojo were surprised to see that the Soujya had been rebuilt.

On board the Soujya, Ryoko had landed and was holding a scared cabbit. Ryo-Ohki wanted to leave, and since she was not being controlled this time it would have been easy, but she couldn't leave without Ryoko. However, she was able to hiss at the man who came to greet them.  "Ah Zero, you have returned," he said though no one answered him.  "Oh I see, you still believe that you are Ryoko then, very well…" he waved his had towards someone that Ryo-Ohki could not see; though the effect was immediate.

"AHHH!" Ryoko fell to her knees holding her head, and with the pain being shared between them, Ryo-Ohki too could not move either.

"Kagato has a marvelous ship, even better than my old ship. Surely, you remember you way around Ryoko." Through the pain, the girl nodded her head.  "Good, I want you to go to the observatory, where you will find we have made many improvements. And, if you try anything," he pointed a finger at Ryo-Ohki, "then you will only be hurting her more."

Ryo-Ohki wanted to kill this man, with every part of her being she wanted to rip him apart.  But she couldn't move.  Ryoko was holding her again, and if she moved then Ryoko would be hurt even more, and so helplessly and hopelessly, she allowed Ryoko to carry her, while he laughed. Upon entering the observation room, Ryo-Ohki could see a small room at the far end.  One that she knew was their destination.  Desperately she tried again and again to reach Ryoko mentally, but nothing worked. She could only hope that someone could follow her signal.

"Sir," a voice called out as Ryoko stepped into the small room.  From her perch, Ryo-Ohki watched someone approached the object of her hatred.

"Yes?"

"A Galaxy Police ship is approaching, they followed that things distress signal," he said pointing to Ryo-Ohki and she hissed at him too.

"DAMN those police! Tell me whose ship it is?" He demanded and Ryo-Ohki finally recognized him as Clay, the one that had kidnapped Ryoko before and replaced her with Zero.

'Zero, that's it!' she happily thought. 'Zero, can you hear me…' she called mentally. It was a long shot, but she hoped that she might be able to reach her.

'Yes, what's going on? Ryoko's scared… How can I hear you?'

For the first time since this started Ryo-Ohki smiled albeit inwardly. 'At least she's not alone this time.' She thought to herself.  'We have to get out of here,' she told Zero.

'I know, but how?  What's Clay doing?'  Ryo-Ohki noticed the hate associated with her previous masters' name, much like how Ryoko felt about Kagato.

'I don't know… Tenchi will save us,' she hoped.

"Sir, we've identified the ship as the Yukinojo, registered to Detective First Class, Mihoshi Kuramitsu."

"OHHH THAT WOMAN!" He screamed, and Ryo-Ohki felt a strange sense of gratification at his obvious discomfort.  "Blast her to pieces!"

"Aye sir!"

'NO!' Ryo-Ohki cried out mentally in terror. Not even Mihoshi's ship could hope to last long against the Soujya.

Countless numbers of energy beams lanced out towards Mihoshi's craft from the Soujya. From inside the ship Mihoshi cried out, "Stop shooting! It's a crime to shoot at a Galaxy Police officer… if you don't stop shooting I'm going to have to place you under arrest!"  Tenchi watched wide eyed as she jerked the control stick in many different ways tossing the ship around so much he was beginning to get sick.

'Zero, please… tell Ryoko that Tenchi's in trouble,' Ryo-Ohki tried.

'Tenchi? How do you know?'

'I don't think he'd let Mihoshi go alone… I know he's with her.'

'Ok…' the voice said, then all went quiet inside their little room. Ryo-Ohki watched Ryoko stand there unmoving.  It felt like hours, though it was only a minute before she got a reaction.  She was dropped to the floor when Ryoko grabbed her head screaming.

Clay and the others turned to see Ryo-Ohki lying on the floor holding her ears closed while Ryoko continued to scream, her pitch getting higher and higher, as did her volume.  Though neither noticed they got their desired effect, the gunners had to stop shooting in order to hold their ears.  Even Clay was in pain from Ryoko's inhuman screams.  Clay may have been in pain, but he was not without his resources.  Slamming his fist down on a button, a shield enveloped the small room muting out Ryoko's screams.  Standing back up he watched; Ryoko seemed to scream for about another five minutes causing the walls of the shield to vibrate before she collapsed to the ground.

"I see, so she's broken through the control…" he hit a few buttons on a panel and the floor began to glow beneath Ryoko.  She looked up at him, this time Ryoko's eyes had returned to normal, and he could see the heavy amounts of pain her eyes promised him if she ever got out of there.  She tried to stand, but the glow from the floor only increased.  Pressing something, he began to speak into a microphone, "I see you have broken the control, but it's no matter. You see the floor is absorbing your powers, soon you and your creature will be nothing but energy."  Clay laughed and watched Ryoko saying something to him, but the shield prevented him from hearing it.

Looking over at Ryo-Ohki, Ryoko crawled to her, since she was still unable to stand.  "Ryo-Ohki?"  But the cabbit still had her ears covered.  'Ryo-Ohki?' She tried mentally.

'Ryoko?' she responded quietly.

'Yes, I'm here, I'm sorry.'

'It's ok… Tenchi… will be here soon.'

"The Yukinojo has broken through the outer defenses; they're aboard the ship now, a male… and the officer."

Thinking about it, he decided on a plan. "Clear everyone out of the room, and make sure they find their way here."

"Sir are you sure that is wise?"

Clay glared at the man, and then pulling something out from under his cloak, he fired it at the officer, incinerating him on the spot.  "Next time I won't be so nice if anyone questions my orders!"  The others did as they were told and setup a number of blockades to make sure Mihoshi and the male made their way to him. Turning to his prisoners, he turned on his microphone, "I'm sure you felt that, that was your power after all." He grinned and she began to curse at him, he didn't need a microphone to tell what she was saying.  "Now now, don't worry… soon you won't feel any more pain," with that he cut the communication, but he made sure she could see.  'Zero and that Ryoko won't take me by surprise this time.' 

He looked at the two in their cage, 'Kagato did a marvelous job on it, but these emotions get in its way,' he thought and then laughed. 'Imagine the great Washu calling this thing her daughter, it's obviously flawed.'  After the last of his men left the room, Clay started to get things ready for his visitors.  He smiled at finally being able to meet the boy that could create the Light Hawk Wings, even if he was going to have to kill him.  It was unbelievable to him, the ship, its power and abilities, but what he loved the most was Kagato's research.  Several of the computer systems had been the original ones and they contained a vast wealth of knowledge that Kagato had accumulated.  'I should have done something like this ages ago, he's collected more information than I have ever seen!' He thought in awe of the former pirate.  'Too bad this boy killed him; I would have liked this man.'

"Tenchi… which way do we go!" Wailed Mihoshi as they ducked under a steady stream of energy fire.

"I don't know, but we can't go this way."  He looked around and saw an opening, "in there quick!"  The two of them began ducking and weaving their way through the corridors, avoiding the heavy concentration of fire coming at them, but Tenchi couldn't help but feel that they were being led into a trap.  'Well grandfather said that knowing about a trap is the best way to avoid one… but how am I going to avoid this?'

It did not take long for the two of them to reach a large set of double doors.  He looked at the doors and felt a chill run down his spine.  However, they could not go beyond the doors, up the hall he could hear the footsteps of dozens of soldiers. From behind them, energy fire was still blasting into the walls nearby and Tenchi knew what was going on.  'Damn it… it's too late,' he thought.  If they went forward, then they would be caught between in crossfire from both sides. The only other direction was inside this room.  "Mihoshi, get ready…"

"Why? Which way are we…" she fell as an energy blast tore through the space her head should have been in.  "Ouch…" she mumbled from the floor, though Tenchi was glad she wasn't truly hurt.

Grabbing her arm Tenchi thrust his back against the doors, throwing one of them open he pulled her into the room with him.  Both of them landed on the floor hard, but he didn't let himself stay there.  Forcing his body to move, he yanked himself off the floor pulling her up with him.  Getting to his feet Tenchi scanned the room and could see at one end Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki locked in a force field of some sort.  "Ryoko!" he screamed, and though she was looking at him and moving her lips, he could not hear her words.

"Ah so nice of you to join us," A voice called from the shadows.

"Who's there? Release Ryoko or I'll…"

"You'll what? Let me live? Let me go free? I doubt that."  Tenchi cursed himself; he hadn't thought that far ahead yet.  "Ah, detective Mihoshi…" A loud clang sounded behind them and Tenchi knew the door was locked without even turning around.

Mihoshi looked at this man; something was familiar about him.  "What do you want?"

"You destroyed my life, my work, everything I had…" he stepped into the light and she could see who it was.  And as the recognition set in, he brought up his arm pointing his hand at her.  "For taking away everything I had…" A green pulse of energy appeared in front of him and it began to glow before it raced away from his hand towards the girl.  Mihoshi could only scream in fright as it approached her, but Tenchi moved.

Seeing the blast headed for Mihoshi, Tenchi reacted and pushed her out of the way while trying to dodge it himself.  Ryoko screamed in pain, the energy Clay was firing had come from her, but she had not felt anything like this, it was as if a part of her was in the blast.  She looked back up to see that Mihoshi was lying on the ground, and so was Tenchi.

When he had pushed Mihoshi out of the way, her head had hit some of the computer controls knocking her unconscious in the process.  However, Tenchi had not been able to dodge the blast.  His entire left side was hurting.  'Oh gods… what happened…' he tried to lift himself up, but his left side was not responding to his movements.  His right was responding, albeit slowly.  Looking up he could see Clay preparing for another attack, from behind clay, he could see Ryoko. Her tears and screams told him all he needed to know.  She was in pain, and it was because of Clay… looking at the deranged scientist he could tell that another blast was coming soon.

Focusing though his pain he remembered his grandfathers words, 'when you fight, it is all or nothing, if you stop before you are done, then you will surely loose.'  He felt like he had already lost, it hurt to move, to breathe to do anything.  But he had to do something.

Ryoko looked on in horror.  Tenchi was on his back, blood spilling out onto the floor from his wounds. The wounds made her sick to even look at them. The blast clay had fired had taken out the wall behind Tenchi, and several other walls. However, what make her truly angry was that Tenchi had been hurt.  From her position, she could see that his left leg and left arm were missing.  The wounds were still open and blood was spilling out quickly.  "Tenchi…  Tenchi!!"  She closed her eyes, and screamed, "TENCHI!"

The next blast Clay pulled even more energy as he laughed, Ryoko could feel her very essence being pulled away from her, and though she wanted to die with him, she would not loose him this way.  She began to fight it, with everything she had left in her.  Calling it all back to her, Ryoko concentrated on her essence, her love for Tenchi. 

"Tenchi!" Ryoko screamed and stood up in her cage… all her power flowing out and back into her. She would not let this happen.

Releasing the energy Clay was building up; he intended to destroy the boy before he could summon the wings.  And he smiled with satisfaction when the bolt slammed into Tenchi.

To be continued…

I know it is cruel to stop here…

I could always use help with pre-reading the story before the next chapter is posted. If you would like to help please go   
I have the next several chapters posted there for my beta readers to help me on.


	10. Pain and Sorrow

Tenchi Muyo: Choices & Consequences: Pain and Sorrow

I do not own Tenchi Muyo, or any of its characters or ideas, but I wish I did.  As for this story, it was written as a sort of what if, while I wait for OVA 3 and GXP to be released stateside.  I started on this after wondering, what if he actually did make a choice?  For those that have read the "True Tenchi Novels" that detail the backgrounds on the characters, I have not read those.  I guess you could say that this is an AU as I have made certain decisions on their backgrounds to fit my story.  And if the Character appear OOC, there is a good reason.

I want to send a very BIG THANKS out to Doug Dennis, Top Quark (Shadow Quark) and Chendzeea Li for helping me with this story.

From Last time:

Ryoko looked on in horror.  Tenchi was on his back, blood spilling out onto the floor from his wounds. The wounds made her sick to even look at them. The blast clay had fired had taken out the wall behind Tenchi, and several other walls. However, what make her truly angry was that Tenchi had been hurt.  From her position, she could see that his left leg and left arm were missing.  The wounds were still open and blood was spilling out quickly.  "Tenchi…  Tenchi!!"  She closed her eyes, and screamed, "TENCHI!"

The next blast Clay pulled even more energy as he laughed, Ryoko could feel her very essence being pulled away from her, and though she wanted to die with him, she would not loose him this way.  She began to fight it, with everything she had left in her.  Calling it all back to her, Ryoko concentrated on her essence, her love for Tenchi. 

"Tenchi!" Ryoko screamed and stood up in her cage… all her power flowing out and back into her. She would not let this happen.

Releasing the energy Clay was building up; he intended to destroy the boy before he could summon the wings.  And he smiled with satisfaction when the bolt slammed into Tenchi.

And now

Tenchi Muyo: Choices & Consequences: Pain and Sorrow

Clay watched smugly as the energy slammed into Tenchi and pushed him into the ground. Slowly his smug look turned to confusion. The energy hovered there; it totally encompassed Tenchi, but unlike the last blast, which had taken out a wall and kept going this one seemed to be holding its position.  The ship began to shake violently knocking Clay off his feet.  From the floor he looked back at Ryoko to see that she was not on the floor as he expected, but rather she was standing, her arms stretched out as the energy around her was being sucked into her.  "That's not possible!"

Hearing a noise he twisted around and moved to his knees where he saw the ball of energy lift up out of the floor.  In the middle of the crater was Tenchi, but he was still alive.  Sweat began to pour off Clay's face as he realized the Wings of the Light Hawk had been shielding him.  As the energy was pushed back by the wings Tenchi floated up into the air. The sight of him was enough to make Clay want to faint.

Ryo-Ohki could see Tenchi now from where she was on the floor and she was scared, more so than she ever had been.  'He's alive!' she thought relieved, but to see him brought its own fear. The wings had not regenerated his left leg; instead, where his left leg should have been was a glowing, partially transparent mass of Light Hawk Energy. The same also applied to his left arm from the elbow down.  She was truly frightened, though not nearly as much as Clay was.

"It's not possible! You should be dead!" He cried out in aggravation. 

Tenchi did not answer him; he was instead watching Ryoko, silently cheering for her. 'Keep going Ryoko, I can feel you pulling the energy back… I felt you protecting me.'  Placing his hand on the energy, he pushed it back towards her.  With his little push, the ball shot backwards passing right past Clay and into the shield holding Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki prisoner.

"NO!" Yelled Clay as he was almost hit, then as he watched mortified the energy passed through the shield as if it wasn't even there.  The shield shattered a moment later and dissipated, but the energy slammed into Ryoko.  He covered his eyes quickly as a bright flash enveloped her.  But he did not get to sit there long, as just scant moments later he was screaming in pain and trying to pull Ryo-Ohki's teeth out of his arm.  "AHHH! Get off me you little demon!"

"Ryo-Ohki!" a feminine voice called. "Let go of that, you don't know where it's been."  Immediately the furry terror released him and dropped to the floor.

Clay lifted his eyes to the voice and he regretted it.  Ryoko was now standing before him, but this time she too had Light Hawk wings before her.  Shifting his eyes between both Ryoko and Tenchi, Clay became very nervous.  There wasn't an escape this time, he hadn't even thought about a means of escape.  "Don't hurt me!" He pleaded cowering before them.

Ryoko felt disgust run through her, 'he is so pathetic,' Ryoko thought and Ryo-Ohki agreed with her.  "I should kill you for what you did, to me… to Tenchi… to everyone! Damn you!" She drew back her hand and Clay's eyes nearly fell out of his head as a sword manifested in her hand.  The energy he knew was from her wings there was no mistaking it.  As her sword sped towards his head, he fell over before he was touched.  He had completely passed out.  "Damn it!"

Tenchi looked at her as she stopped just inches away from him.  "It's ok Ryoko… we've won."

"Damn it! We should kill him…" She was disgusted, she wanted so much to kill him, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

"No, we can't kill him."

"Why not!"

"You know why," he said to her softly and she looked down as she knew the reason, "but we have to destroy this ship. Washu said that the gems in it control you."

"But I beat them!"

"This time, I don't want anyone to have a chance at this again."  She nodded and she looked at Ryo-Ohki who was beside her. "Get Mihoshi back to her ship, and get out of here."

'But what about the other bad men?'  Ryo-Ohki asked mentally.

"Good point," Ryoko replied and then focusing her energy she fired a blast out the wall down towards Mihoshi's ship, missing it barely. "Oops…"

"It's ok Ryoko, you missed it." Tenchi added, "Ryo-Ohki get Mihoshi to her ship, Yukinojo can fly her to safety then."

"Um Tenchi?"

"Yes?" He turned to Ryoko and he could not help but notice how much she reminded him of an Angel at this moment. Her entire body glowed with an ethereal light that was accentuated by a soft reddish glow of her gems.

"Ryo-Ohki can't carry her…"

"Huh… Oh," He thought about it, "I'll put her in the ship, don't let him get away. When I come back we will destroy this ship."

He had just picked up Mihoshi when he heard her again, "No…"

"What's wrong?" He turned to see a look on Ryoko's face that he had seen a few times before. It had a determination on them that he knew she would not back down from what she had decided. "What are you thinking?"

"Just get her out of here… I'll take care of the ship."

Tenchi knew better to argue and he nodded, "Come back to me," he then flew down the path Ryoko had made and put Mihoshi back on her ship.  But even as he flew away, he could feel the energy swelling around Ryoko. 'I hope you know what you're doing…'

Once Ryoko could feel that Tenchi, Mihoshi and Ryo-Ohki were safely away; she began draining the energy out of the gems remaining in the ship.  Lights began to fail as did computer systems all over the ship. Thankfully for those that remained someone had the smarts to signal the evacuation.  Tenchi watched from space as the escape pods began to shoot away from the ship. The last one left just seconds before the entire ship imploded on it self.  Energy, matter, light, all were sucked inward as Ryoko seemingly absorbed the ship.

Watching closely he noticed that instead of her absorbing it she was compressing it into something…

Ryoko forced the energies together and she forced them to keep moving in closer so that she could hold them in her hand.  As she looked at it she laughed, "A yellow gem..." 

Drawing her arm back, she threw the gem as hard as she could towards the sun.  The gem streaked across space towards the sun, Tenchi watched as it flew past him. Ryoko was strong to begin with, but having the added strength of the Light Hawk the gem flew faster than Yukinojo could track it.  Mihoshi watched it until she could not see it anymore.

On earth, those that watched the heavens for a brief moment watched as a star flew across the sky towards the sun. The more adventurous of astronomers tracked it as far as they could before it was consumed by the intense heat of the sun.  From within the surface of the sun, an explosion caused fire to leap off the surface before crashing back down.  To those that had not witnessed it, nothing different had happened.  But to Tenchi, and more especially Ryoko, it was a great victory.

"I'm free…" she shouted though there was no sound. Calling Ryo-Ohki she teleported onto the bridge and smiled. Tenchi soon joined her, though as soon as his feet touched the ground he released the power of the wings.  It was this instant that Tenchi realized the full scope of his wounds, as he fell to the floor.  "Ryo-Ohki! Take us to Washu!"

On Earth Washu was regretting not being able to go with Tenchi to help him, but he had asked her to take care of Ayeka, and the princess had kept her busy.  The princess had been having a number of strong contractions and for a brief moment, Washu lost the sound of the child's heartbeat, only to later find out that an enraged Ayeka had knocked off the sensor.  Ayeka now lay sleeping in a bed with her sister watching over her.  Washu was glad of the quiet, because now she was able to focus on what was happening in space.  As she tried to find out what was going on she was relieved to see that the Yukinojo had broken into the ship and though it she was able to patch into the ships internal sensor system.

When she found them, she was not very pleased.  Tenchi and Mihoshi were facing off with someone standing in the shadows. Panning the cameras around, she gasped as she saw Ryoko lying on her stomach, with the floor beneath her glowing.  "DAMN IT," she hissed through clenched teeth.  She knew how this affected Ryoko before and she hated seeing it happening again.

Turning on the Audio she was surprised to hear a familiar voice, "You destroyed my life, my work, everything I had…" he stepped into the light and she could see who it was.

"THAT BASTARD!" She screamed forgetting about Ayeka. "Who the hell let him out of Jail?"  She turned the camera just in time to see Tenchi push Mihoshi out of the way taking the hit for her. "NOOOO!!"

In the other room from Washu Sasami suddenly sat up, "Oh no…"

Ayeka too started mumbling, "Tenchi…. No… Tenchi…"

"Shhh, it's going to be ok… Go back to sleep…" Sasami tried to calm her sister, but the tears in her eyes would not go away.  She suddenly heard a number of obscenities that the Jurai Navy had never heard of coming from Washu in the next room.  She looked back at her sister and placed a hand on her head, "Tsunami, let her sleep… let her be ok…" a few tears fell from Sasami's eyes as she rushed to the other room to see Washu slamming her fists into several of her machines.

Looking at the monitor, she could see Tenchi laying on the floor… blood pouring out of his body from where his leg and arm should be.  "Oh no… TSUNAMI!"  She ran from the room crying, she was not sure where she was running, but she could not look at that again.

Washu felt a gut-wrenching mental cry from her daughter; she looked up to see Ryoko standing up amid the pain. She stood defiant and then she began to pull. Even Washu could feel the pain, but still Ryoko continued to pull.  Clay fired another blast at Tenchi and Washu held her breath.

The blast sailed at Tenchi and impacted, but something was different, Washu could see it on her monitors, "YES!" She cried out joyously. "She did it!"  Cheering now for her daughter she watched as the energy pulled away from Tenchi, and she cheered again seeing that he was not only alive, but also glowing. "Go Tenchi! Kick his ass!"  Then she suddenly stopped as Tenchi floated up.  "His leg… it's still gone…" Unable to pull her eyes away from the monitor she watched as Tenchi pushed the energy ball back at Ryoko, but she was even more surprised at her daughters' transformation.  "She's beautiful… My angel... my daughter…" she said to the screen as she stroked her fingers across the image of Ryoko's transformed state.

"Ryo-Ohki!" a feminine voice called breaking Washu out of her trance. "Let go of that, you don't know where it's been."  Immediately the furry terror released Clay and dropped to the floor.

"NO! Kill him! Don't let that bastard live… kill him! He hurt you… he hurt my baby…" Washu cried in anguish, but she could feel comforting thoughts from her daughter.  She could hear the exchange between the Tenchi and Ryoko, and she felt cheated.  After all that Clay has done, he didn't deserve to be left alone, but that is just what they were doing.  "Damn it…" she muttered when she saw him fly off with Mihoshi and Ryo-Ohki.

Washu then felt a stirring from inside her; the camera showed Ryoko pulling the energies of the ship into herself. "No she'll kill them all…" typing furiously she set off the ships evacuation sequence.  Happy that they were escaping she returned to looking in the room with her daughter and she could see things collapsing in on itself, but what brought her a perverse sense of joy was that Clay's prone figure still remained.  "Serves the bastard right," she thought as the camera suddenly cut off.

"No… what happened next? Where'd they go? What's going on?" She tried to hack into Yukinojo's sensors, but that didn't give her much information, though she could feel a sudden sense of euphoria from Ryoko. "Good she's…" she cut herself short as panic rushed through her link with Ryoko.

'MOM!'

"AHHH!" Washu cried out holding her head. 'Don't scream…'

'Tenchi's hurt… he's…'

'I know… I saw what happened.' Washu assumed that was what Ryoko was worried about. 'Is he still bleeding?'

'No… it looks like…'

'Let me see, I need you to let me see what you see.'  Ryoko agreed and Washu was shocked by what she saw.  Tenchi was on the floor of the Ryo-Ohki, but he did not seem to be in pain, instead he looked confused, and dazed.  'He's in shock, the wounds look…' she trained off as she had her daughter actually look at his leg and arm. 'It looks like the wounds were completely sealed up… why didn't he regenerate?'  She pondered this for a brief moment, and then instructed Ryoko to hurry up and get back. For once Ryoko didn't complain about being ordered around.

Sasami was lost; she didn't know where she was, or even how to get back. She had tried to run out of the lab, but instead she had only succeeded in running into a new section.  What was worse was that she could barely see through her tears.  After seeing Tenchi lying on the floor with… with… she could not even think about it again as more tears invaded her eyes.  Aimlessly she wandered around, absorbed in her own thoughts when she heard a voice in her mind.  Through the haze in her mind, she could not even tell that it was Tsunami talking to her.

However she let the voice guide her, she trusted it; she had no reason to doubt it.  Slowly the voice led her to a place that she knew a place that she had once had to spend the night.  Approaching the area, she could see the sapling of Ry-ouh growing.  The water forming a small circle around the tree began to swirl around before gushing upwards to form the image of Tsunami.  "Sasami," she called softly holding her arms out to the little girl.

Sasami did the only thing she could think of, she fell into the goddesses' arms.  This time the arms surrounded her, she could feel the goddess holding her close.  "Oh Tsunami… Tenchi's…." Though he was hurt, Sasami could feel an almost motherly embrace from the goddess. Had she thought about it, Tsunami was like the mother to her people, so acting this way was not uncommon for her, though in this form it was.

"I know."  Tsunami just held her as she cried, even though the goddess could feel that he was alive, and more importantly that he was currently using his Light Hawk Wings, she believed that Sasami still needed to be comforted.  Searching Sasami's mind she saw that the girl felt a mothers embrace which caused her to smile, and continue to hold her.  When the girls' tears subsided, the goddess asked, "He is still alive, Ryoko too. Would you like to see?"  Sasami just nodded her head.  Touching Sasami's forehead, the goddess allowed the child to see what she saw.

Though here eyes were closed, Sasami could see. Even clearer than she had ever seen before.  Turning around in the vision, she could see the Soujya and inside she could perceive then see Tenchi, and Ryoko clad in the Wings of the Light Hawk.  "Oh wow…" she breathed as she marveled at Ryoko.  "She's… she's…"

"Yes, she has come into her power, her full power," the goddess supplied.

Before her new eyes Sasami watched as Tenchi took Mihoshi back to her ship followed by Ryo-Ohki. "What's Ryoko doing?"

"Just watch…" the goddess smiled.  "She's about to become free."

"Free?" Sasami seemed confused, but as she watched, she could see Ryoko pulling the ship in on itself and compressing it into an object the size of a gem.  "That looks like one of her gems?"

"Yes, one that has no past once had a past.  That same one took her powers and placed them into the three gems that Ryoko now bears."

"Really!" Sasami looked at Tsunami wide eyed as the vision around her faded.

"Yes, but that is also why I can't help him," she looked down and away from the princess. Her own feelings of grief she knew were from how close she was to Sasami and she began to worry about when they became one. 'Can I live like this?'

Sadly Sasami realized what she was meaning; "You… can't help him?" Tsunami just shook her head.  "B-But… what's going to happen to him? Why can't you help him?"

"He will continue to live; he will need support and care, even if he says he does not."  She watched as Sasami nodded her head, "Before he was wounded, but not by that power.  This time his leg and arm were taken by the power of a goddess, and only that goddess can undo what has been done."

"C-Can't… we just…" Sasami started but Tsunami shook her head.

"I'm sorry, but that is not possible yet," she sighed heavily. "The time is not right yet for my sister to be awakened."  Sasami looked downhearted and Tsunami didn't need her link to the girl to feel the utter depression setting in.  "Do not be afraid for him, or her." She then looked up towards the sky, "They are nearing… you must tell Washu that I cannot help this time."

"O… k," she replied softly before hugging the goddess one last time.  Tsunami returned the hug, and was glad for her being able to take on a corporal form like this.  After one last quick hug, Tsunami pointed Sasami in the direction she needed to go, and then rushed off to find Washu, and since they were close to where Ry-ouh was being regenerated Sasami knew how to get back to where her sister was.

Moving closer to Ayeka she could hear her sister's voice, "Ten… chi"

"Shhh," the little princess tried, "Tenchi's coming back, Ryoko too."

"Um… Ten…chi…"

Ayeka's voice seemed to drop off and Sasami looked at her sister worriedly. Taking her hand she held it and then told her quietly, "They're coming back.  Tenchi saved Ryoko… he…" Tears began to fall as she tried to find a way to tell her sister what happened.

"Sasami?" A voice called her from behind, and turning around she latched onto the scientist.

Immediately she latched onto the scientist. "Washu… what… what are we going to do?"

"Do?" She tried to feign innocence, to hopefully curb the princess' worry, but it did not seem to help.

"WASHU!" A voice shouted as it entered the lab followed shortly by the forms of Ryo-Ohki and Ryoko who was carrying Tenchi with her.  He did not seem to be in pain, but more dazed and lethargic.

"Over here Ryoko!" The scientist called as Sasami let go of her.  A table rose up from the floor allowing Ryoko to set him down, but she did not move away from him.

"Hi Washu…" he said as his eyes gazed around the room.  To those that saw him he appeared to be highly drugged.

"Tenchi… Tenchi, can you hear me?" Washu more yelled than asked him.

"Yea, I hear you."

"Oh no!" Sasami gasped as she noticed his arm and leg were still missing.

"Can you do something?" Ryoko screamed at Washu as the scientist scanned him.

"Give me a minute!"

Ryoko just growled, "We don't have a minute!"

"Yes we DO!" Washu fired back; "He's not going to die."

"B-B-But…"

"No buts! He's not in danger of dying."  Washu looked over his wounds as the scanners concluded their search.  "Look," she said pointing to a video screen that popped up in front of them. "His leg is gone, so it a portion of his hip, also his arm from just above the elbow."  Her description made both Ryoko and Sasami ill.  "However, the wounds have been completely healed and…"

"What the hell do you mean completely healed! His leg is gone! Damn it!"

"I didn't say they were restored I said healed! Look," she pointed again at the wounds and Ryoko could see that there were no open wounds, and he was no longer bleeding. It was as if the leg or arm had never been there before.  Looking up at her mother the question was obvious even with out their mental connection, 'How?'  Washu paced off a few feet then returned, "Look, Tenchi's never let me test his wings before so I don't know what they are capable of, However, they've stopped his bleeding.  He's not in danger of dying."

"But what about…"

"I know!" Washu roared. "I'll work on it… but without the hip being there I'll have to do some surgery on him to replace it, but…"

"But?"

"But… if he uses the wings I don't know what will happen to the replacements…" Washu looked completely lost and bowed her head, she had never worked with anything like this and she didn't know what would happen.

"Can you replace it?" Sasami asked nervously.

Washu's head dipped lower. "I don't know," she mumbled.

"What the hell do you mean?" Ryoko growled and picked her mother up shaking her.

"RYOKO STOP!" Ryoko suddenly stopped shaking Washu and looked back at Sasami's tear stained face.

"I-I… I'm…"

"It's ok…" Washu started not sure how to finish.  She knew that Ryoko wasn't usually one for apologizing, and given the circumstances this was not an easy thing to handle.  In her mind, she could see Ryoko's dream world, her fantasies involving Tenchi suddenly fading before her sight, unable to cope anymore Ryoko began to cry like she had never cried before.  Washu just held her daughter as she cried.

Later that night, as the family gathered around him, Washu informed them as to what his condition was, while Ryoko told Ayeka about what had happened to Tenchi.  Both had waited until Ayeka was in stable condition, not only that, but they elected to wait until after Washu had done some research on what she could, and could not do.  It came as a startling discovery for them to hear that Tsunami could not help, and it surprised them even more to find out why. But with this information, Washu had the arduous task of telling the others, including Tenchi's father that she may not be able to get him to walk again, while it was up to Ryoko to tell Ayeka.

"The fact that part of his hip is gone is bad enough," she told them, "but add to it that the hip, the socket for the leg and even the leg itself is gone means that I have nothing to attach the limb to.  Even if I could re-create a limb, even a mechanical one… it would be nothing more than a glorified crutch for him to lean on."  When asked why, which she was asked repeatedly, she made sure to explain to them using many different pictures of his new skeletal system and problems. "Since the hip and the socket are gone I would have to completely manufacture a new one, which would be a lot of surgery for him." She paused for a moment as she had debated this part many times in her mind, "Plus if and when he calls on the Light Hawk Wings… I am not sure what will happen to the artificial limbs I give him."

Nobuyuki, understandably, did not take the news very well.  For his part, Yosho also did not take the news well.  He was faced now with an impossible task, 'If I release him from the duel, then he may be happy, but he will know his honor was questioned and never proven. But he cannot fight like this, no one can.'  Yosho felt at a total loss, he had no saying, no comments, not even an idea of what to do, this alone disturbed him, but what disturbed him more was that Tenchi still seemed to be sitting on Washu's lab table, staring at his missing body parts.  He didn't even seem to register that anyone else was around.

When she was asked about how Ryoko and Ayeka were handling this, Washu could only shrug her shoulders, as through her link with Ryoko she could not tell how things were going.  The two had moved away from the rest of the family for quite some time where they cried and wondered about their futures.  Ayeka more so than Ryoko was worried. Not because of Yosho's challenge, but because her child would be born soon.

"R-Ryoko…" Ayeka began quietly. "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know… I always thought that nothing bad like that could ever happen…"

Ayeka didn't want to know, but she had to ask; "Could it happen again?"  Ryoko just shrugged her shoulders.  She had no idea if it could, but even if it could never happen again, the damage had already been done.  "Will he walk again?" Ayeka asked.

"Since Tsunami can't help, and Washu's not been able to come up with anything it's… it's…"

Ayeka nodded gravely, "Then… we… we'll be there, we'll help him."

"What can we do?"

"I-I don't know… but I'm not giving up…. You shouldn't either." The princess scolded Ryoko though it didn't come off half as threatening as she wanted it to.

However, Ryoko did get her point and smiled slightly as she nodded. "We'll be there…" she looked around then dried her eyes realizing she had been crying.  "Ready?"

Ayeka nodded her head, and standing up she felt a wave of dizziness hit before Ryoko caught her. "I may be ready… but the room's not…" She held her head fiercely trying to stop the spinning.

"Hold on princess, let me carry you," Ryoko laughed slightly as she said that.

Ayeka bit back a small laugh, "That will be fine, but who will carry you princess?"

Ryoko just snorted, "I swear I still hate that title."

"But it has its perks."

The two flew to where Tenchi was and Ayeka gasped as she saw him.  His eyes still held no sign that he knew where he was, or even that anyone else was nearby.  She was glad that her brother was not in the room at the time, as was Ryoko.  Setting Ayeka down on his right, Ryoko sat beside him on the left.  She was in a cold sweat as she sat beside him, the full extent of his injuries were ready to overwhelm here when Ayeka spoke.

"Tenchi?" She called quietly.  "Tenchi, we're here… we're here for you."  Ryoko wished she could voice her reinforcements.  Ayeka held his hand and placed a hand on his cheek.  Suddenly Tenchi blinked and Ryoko held her breath.  Ayeka told him again that they were there and he mumbled out an answer so low that even Ryoko couldn't hear it.  "What was that?"

Tenchi's head moved slightly and Ryoko felt like cheering for a moment.  This has been the first time he's moved since bringing him back.  However, her hopes were dashed as he spoke. "Look at me…"

"Tenchi?" Ayeka called again.

"I'm useless…" his voice managed to reach both of them.  "I-I can't do anything… I'm nothing… LOOK AT ME!" His voice threatened to make them deaf as his voice kept getting higher.

"Tenchi…" Ayeka started only to find that she was falling, and she let out a startled scream, but right before she hit the floor she was surprised to see Ryoko under her.

"Get away from me!"  Tenchi's eyes turned cold and both girls could see that he had pushed her away.

"Tenchi?" Ryoko called as Ayeka looked up horrified.

"DAMN IT! Get the hell away from me! Everyone that gets near me gets hurt… oh gods… look at me…" Tenchi tried to run away, but only ended up in falling on the floor face first.  For a moment, the only sounds were the muffled sounds he made.

Setting Ayeka on the bed Ryoko rolled Tenchi over to look at him, but he wouldn't look at her.  His eyes were shut tightly; the tears streaming down them were not even hampered by it.  "Tenchi… look at me… please…" she grabbed his head as she knelt over him.  She was surprised when she felt a knee in her side sending her away from him.

"Go… away…" he said through his sobs. Ryoko though knew she needed to do something, but what was the question.

"You don't love us… do you?"  His eyes snapped open.  "Just because you got hurt you stopped loving us…" He frantically shook his head no, but he could utter no words.  "This is it them," Ryoko said flatly as she looked at Ayeka, who was crying as well.  Her heat was shattered before them.  "You lied to us… to her and to me!"  Fury began to race through her veins.  "I know it wasn't a proper wedding, but we meant it… I meant it… damn it… I Loved You!"

There were not words to describe the pain he was feeling, but Ryoko couldn't see his pain through the pain inside her. "I know we must have sounded pretty desperate in there… but to get our hopes up… to make us believe you loved us…"

"RYOKO!" Ayeka shouted.

"I meant what I said in there… I know we got the words off that silly show as you called it," she looked down at him and she saw the pain in his eyes. "It may have been a stupid TV show, but I wanted to tell you the same things… I will be there, through better or worse…" her voice choked up and Ayeka caught on to what she meant.

"I meant it too," his eyes turned to Ayeka. "We watched that same show together; it only made sense to same the same things to you, for better or worse, richer or poorer, sickness and health… Since we were not having a typical Juraian or even a typical wedding at your grandfathers' shrine we made up our own lines… be we meant them."

Tenchi didn't know what to say, he felt unfit for them, not just because of his appearance now, not just because he could no longer protect them, but also because of what he had just done.  Ryoko stomped over to where Ayeka was sitting on the bed and he could feel her fury through the floor.  Picking Ayeka up Ryoko turned towards him.  "If you don't want us, we'll leave… I'm sorry we… we…"

"We're leaving the decision to you," Ayeka finished.  And with that, Ryoko flew past him. He watched as they left him, lying on the floor, in a pool of his own self pity, self doubt and a pool of his own tears.  Hearing the door open, he turned to see that Ryoko had set Ayeka down for a moment, before picking her back up.  Tenchi could only watch in agony as both sides of his heart prepared to leave him, leave him behind… possibly forever.

To be continued…

Sorry to leave it like this… I know you don't believe me.

I could always use help with pre-reading the story before the next chapter is posted. If you would like to help please go   
I have the next several chapters posted there for my beta readers to help me on.


	11. Can Sorrow Become Hope?

Tenchi Muyo: Choices & Consequences: Can Sorrow Become Hope?

I do not own Tenchi Muyo, or any of its characters or ideas, but I wish I did.  As for this story, it was written as a sort of what if, while I wait for OVA 3 and GXP to be released stateside.  I started on this after wondering, what if he actually did make a choice?  For those that have read the "True Tenchi Novels" that detail the backgrounds on the characters, I have not read those.  I guess you could say that this is an AU as I have made certain decisions on their backgrounds to fit my story.  And if the Character appear OOC, there is a good reason.

 I want to send a very BIG THANKS out to Doug Dennis, Top Quark (Shadow Quark) and Chendzeea Li for helping me with this story.

From Last time:

"I meant what I said in there… I know we got the words off that silly show as you called it," she looked down at him and she saw the pain in his eyes. "It may have been a stupid TV show, but I wanted to tell you the same things… I will be there, through better or worse…" her voice choked up and Ayeka caught on to what she meant.

"I meant it too," his eyes turned to Ayeka. "We watched that same show together; it only made sense to same the same things to you, for better or worse, richer or poorer, sickness and health… Since we were not having a typical Juraian or even a typical wedding at your grandfathers' shrine we made up our own lines… be we meant them."

Tenchi didn't know what to say, he felt unfit for them, not just because of his appearance now, not just because he could no longer protect them, but also because of what he had just done.  Ryoko stomped over to where Ayeka was sitting on the bed and he could feel her fury through the floor.  Picking Ayeka up Ryoko turned towards him.  "If you don't want us, we'll leave… I'm sorry we… we…"

"We're leaving the decision to you," Ayeka finished.  And with that, Ryoko flew past him. He watched as they left him, lying on the floor, in a pool of his own self pity, self doubt and a pool of his own tears.  Hearing the door open, he turned to see that Ryoko had set Ayeka down for a moment, before picking her back up.  Tenchi could only watch in agony as both sides of his heart prepared to leave him, leave him behind… possibly forever.

And now

Tenchi Muyo: Choices & Consequences: Can Sorrow Become Hope?

Before Ryoko's feet even left the floor, he knew his answer, and though his voice was strained, they heard it, "Wait…" Ryoko did not want to look around; she was too scared that she had gone too far. Ayeka peeked over Ryoko's shoulder to see Tenchi trying hard to turn himself over.  "Don't… go…" he pleaded.

"Why not?" Ayeka asked surprised at her own harshness.

"I… Love you… both of you…"

"Then why…" Ryoko started as she turned around to see him.  Just the sight of him made her heart twist in pain.

"I… I-I'm scared…" he said as he tried to kneel only to fall backwards against the table.  He gestured down at himself helplessly; "I can't protect either of you anymore… I can't even sit up…"

"I think you're forgetting something Tenchi."  All eyes turned to Washu who was sitting on her floating pillow. Had this been under better circumstances she might have enjoyed the show of emotions between them.  "When you were on the Soujya and later in space and on the Ryo-Ohki, you were standing."

Ryoko suddenly looked up in sudden remembrance, "That's right he was!"

"How?" Ayeka and Tenchi both wanted to know.

Waving her hand a video screen appeared from when they were on the Soujya. In it, all of them could see Tenchi standing on his feet, but what was so amazing was that his missing leg was glowing and partially translucent.  "You see Tenchi, the wings created not only a leg for you to stand on, but an arm as well."

His two wives returned to his side as the three of them watched it. "I never really thought about how… I mean how you did that… I just thought you were…" Ryoko told him as she sat Ayeka on the bed again then helped him off the floor.

The three sat on the table watching as Washu bombarded them with information.  He could feel both of his wives holding on to him and he began to silently curse his new inability to hold them both.  Though he listened to Washu, he was not very hopeful in what she was saying.  Something was nagging at him; he had a sinking feeling that the implants she was talking about would not work.

"So you see…" Washu continued, and he had to blink a few times to realize he had missed a lot. "He can still generate a leg and arm with the wings, but it demands concentration and energy.  That's why he can't rely on those permanently, however by inserting a few parts here and here,' she said pointing to a diagram of his body. "I can give him some mobility back."

"But…" Ayeka started to ask; as she had a feeling that something was being left out.

"Well, since Tenchi's never let me really study the wings before I don't know how they will handle the implants… I mean things could be great and they would be unaffected… or the wings could burn them out or disintegrate the parts."

"I see your point…" Ayeka added sadly.

"I guess we'll have to take that chance," Tenchi said slowly. "But what about my arm?" He didn't want to say it, but he missed being able to hold them both. He thought that without his leg he could survive, but he felt like he was dying since he could not hold them, both.

"That is an easier problem to fix, you see your arm was cut off around the elbow, but the… um… stub… that remains at least gives me something to attach the replacement to.  Since your leg is missing entirely as is a part of the hip I can't just attach it to anything right now."

He just sighed and resigned himself to his fate. "Ok but when could you have the arm ready… since it requires less."

"I could give you one of many different arms, but I need to get some scans of your current arm, other wise the replacement will…" she hesitated trying to find the way to say what she had thought, "not look right…"

"Ok, let's get to this then."

"It's not that simple Tenchi, I need to get scans, and then I need to build it and then…"

"OK, ok… I get the point… I won't have it in the next five minutes…" his sigh was heard and Washu for once cursed her inability to make something for him that quickly.

"I'm sorry…" she said softly.

"Washu… you don't need to…"

"The hell I do! Damn it! It was my ship that caused this problem, it was my design that allowed him to hurt you and I can't seem to think fast enough to… to…"

"Washu…" he called again.  "I'll live… get some rest."  The look in his eyes warmed her though she still hated not being able to help faster.  "It wasn't your fault that they used your ship that way… you aren't to blame."  Ayeka and Ryoko saw the love returning to his normal self and they were happy in that he could, after what has happened forgive like this.  They were still hurt from earlier, but they knew that he loved them. 

For her part Washu nodded tearfully, she was still feeling like she had failed him yet again, and she wondered how she could consider herself a genius if everything she had made was taken from her and used in such an evil way.  Even her own daughter had been ruthlessly taken and forced to destroy, 'it's just not right!' And it wasn't once, but many times now her daughter had been taken from them, and him.  She could scarcely feel the desire to call herself the greatest in light of what has happened recently.  She watched as Ryoko and Ayeka now both helped Tenchi out of the lab, and back into the house.

Moving into the house had been interesting as Ryoko still clutched his mangled left side, her tears not yet reaching her eyes, and she could barely keep her composure.  She knew that this wasn't her fault, but it was still the power of her gems, that had taken this away from him.  They stopped suddenly as a set of feet appeared in her vision from where she was watching the floor.  Looking up, she was met by a face she had learned to hate for seven hundred years. Then after barely becoming able to come to terms that the old man was the same person that was stripped away and he had been proven to be young again.  During the past five years she had come to forgive him as their perfect fantasy had played out like a dream, a dream that has been shattered now.

Before Ryoko could move though a hand had slapped his face, and though she knew he could have deflected it, he didn't.  "Damn it brother!" The owner of the voice shouted causing Ryoko to look at Ayeka surprised.  "I bet you are here just to patronize him, to tell him that you still plan on having your silly little fight…" tears were running down her cheeks as she stood there impassive and seemingly uncaring.  "What gave you the right to destroy my life!"

He looked at her, his gaze unwavering, "Destroy?"

"Yes DAMN IT!" Even Mihoshi and Sasami were caught off guard not only by her words, but also by her voice. "Even now you know…" A quiet voice and a gentle squeeze stopped her protest.

"Ayeka…" Tenchi told her quietly, "Let me."  She nodded and Yosho looked at his grandson, the look in Tenchi's eyes spoke louder than his next words.  "Lord Yosho, I will die before I let either of my wives be taken from me. Now if you will move aside, we've had a hard day."  Tenchi smiled at the surprised look he received from his grandfather. Gripping his loves as tight as he could without having both arms, he let them lead him upstairs.

As they rounded the corner and were out of eyesight Yosho placed a hand on his cheek and cringed at the bruise he felt.  Though it still hurt he smiled, 'You've grown up, all of you… finally.'  Turning around, he walked briskly out of the house trying to shake the pain out of his jaw.

Sasami had been speechless, she'd never heard her sister talk like that, but now she smiled and looked at Mihoshi who also was surprised.  The little princess just smiled though and returned to the kitchen.  'Well since they went upstairs, I guess they won't be here for dinner… I know I'll take it to them!'  Humming happily she made dinner for her family.  When everything was ready, she was only slightly disappointed when only Nobuyuki and Mihoshi were the only ones to show up.  She knew that Tenchi, Ryoko and Ayeka would not be there, but she had expected Washu to be.  Sighing she had Nobuyuki help her take dinner to the three upstairs. Of course, Mihoshi wanted to help too, but with her bad habit of tripping Sasami didn't want her to carry the food.  Thinking quickly, Sasami had agreed to let Mihoshi carry the utensils and napkins and such.

After getting the three started on dinner, Sasami went back downstairs with Mihoshi and Nobuyuki.  She was surprised that Washu was still not out, so making a plate for her, she had Nobuyuki carry it in to her knowing that Mihoshi would probably only make the scientist upset.  Nobuyuki she thought was overjoyed at the idea, and he happily took Washu her dinner allowing Mihoshi and Sasami a chance to eat.

Stepping into the lab, Nobuyuki was surprised that he didn't see her anywhere. He began to call out, "Washu…  Oh Little Washu?"  In the distance, he heard the faint sound of cursing so he headed in that direction.  Arriving where she was he was surprised by the number of wires and parts that littered the area around her.  Again and again, he could hear her muttering and cursing about something.  "Miss Washu?"

"What!" She nearly screamed as she turned around.  When she saw who it was she relaxed and slumped into a chair.

"Are you ok?"  She just shook her head as he handed her a bowl of noodles.  As she ate, Nobuyuki looked at the thing on the table. Had it not had the millions of wires protruding from it he might have mistook it for a cybernetic leg.  Looking around he noticed many different pictures, scans and charts for Tenchi and he smiled for a moment.  The scans and pictures had showed what he looked like, with both legs.  That realization caused him to frown and become discouraged for a moment.  "I… I see you're building him a leg…" He tried hard to sound at least some what positive.

She just nodded her head and finished off the noodles. "I'm trying…"

"But?"

"But nothing seems right… I mean look at this one…" she held up a completed leg and he guessed it looked ok. "I had just finished the exterior and had it matched up with his scan here." She pointed to a screen.

"Well that sounds good."

"NO it's not; did you know he's grown a few inches since that was taken? When I realized that I had to throw this one out because he can't walk on it as it's too short now."

"I see, so what are you doing with this one?"

She sighed heavily, "I was trying to build it so that it would auto-adjust to his other leg…"

"And?" He asked excitedly.

Shaking her head, she looked at him then at the leg. "I have tried a number of things, but it won't adjust properly, it seems that the materials can't be so precisely adjusted.  It will be either just a little short, or a little long.  But even then I have the problem of how is it going to connect and how is he going to control it?"

"I see; that could be a problem." Nobuyuki thought about it, and he remembered seeing that part of Tenchi's hip was gone.  "What about just growing another part or cloning it?"

She let out a short laugh, "I could grow it easy enough, but I still need a way to connect it.  But even then, the place where his hip joint should be is gone! I would have to install a hip joint, and then have to try and re-connect his leg back to his spine and… and…"

"And?" He asked and she could see in his eyes that he believed she could do it.

"I've never tried anything like that before…" she acknowledged sadly.  "I've learned enough about anatomy and biology to create Ryoko, and make her as perfect as I could."  Washu sat down on her floating pillow feeling horrible. Mainly she felt that she is letting everyone down because she just never learned how to do this, with Ryoko she never needed to.

Nobuyuki was looked at her shocked. "Oh, I never knew… I mean you just seemed to be so good at everything…" She felt even worse as he tried to cheer her up.  "…I mean even when they cut off Ryoko's hands they grew back and you can't even tell it…" she kept catching small phrases from him but was not paying much attention.  "Washu… Washu?"

"Huh? Sorry…" she felt even worse because she had brushed him off.

"It's ok; I just asked how did you replace Ryoko's hand?  Tenchi told me once before that he and grandpa had cut off one, but I couldn't ever tell it was gone."

"No, she did that.  The Masu allows her to regenerate limbs once they have been cut off."

"To bad Tenchi doesn't have that power.  Then he could re-grow his arm and leg."

Washu snorted, "Yea but he doesn't have any…" she paused and her eyes went wide.

"I know; he doesn't have any Mass or what ever you call those things." He turned around to look at her and she still had her eyes open wide.  "Washu?"

"Nobuyuki you're a genius!" She shouted then grabbing two handfuls of his hair; she pulled him into a kiss.

The kiss would have been broken immediately, but for one thing. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back.  He wasn't sure of a number of things. Mostly why she had called him that, and secondly why had she kissed him.  But he wasn't about to complain about either, or even give up a kiss. Not only that but he was not sure at what point in the kiss that his arms had wrapped around her pulling her closer.  He paused only long enough in the kiss as he felt her body changing and he sighed happily to have her in her adult form.  In her child form she was cute, and still Washu, but he preferred her more mature looking form, not only that she had larger breasts in that form which he could now feel pressing against him.

'I may be a dirty old man, but at least I'm happy,' he thought as the kiss finally broke.

"Nobuy…. I-I…"

"It's ok," he told her smiling before planting a small kiss on her chin earning a low moan from her.  "Would you mind telling me why you…" thinking of the best way to say it he paused.  "Why'd you call me a genius?"

"Don't you see?" She said excitedly, "he can't regenerate because he doesn't have the Masu cells in him!"  He looked at her confused and she chased the stray thought of how cute he looked away. "Ok it's like this, he can't regenerate because he doesn't have the Masu, but if we were to assimilate the Masu into him then…"

"Then he can reg…regen… damn it, re-grow," he smiled at her before continuing, "His leg and arm."

"Damn Right!" She squealed happily. "Not only that but the Masu will grow with him and they aren't damaged by the Light Hawk Wings!"

He looked confused, "Why were you worried about that?"

Hoping out of his arms her mind protested a little, as did he. "Well you see, the wings he has seems to work best with organic things, and I was worried that if I placed a cybernetic joint or parts in him then every time he used the wings it could melt the implants, destroy the leg… or it could continue to function."

To say the least he was amazed, "I never thought of that."

"I know… I didn't until today."  She turned away from him; ashamed of her own inability's again.

Stepping up behind her he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back towards him as he held her tight.  "I knew you could help him, he has faith in you… so do I," he said as he kissed her neck, though he was not sure why.  He guessed it was to show her his support, or his belief that she could do it. What ever his reasons, his simple kiss did not stay so simple.

When the sun finally crested over the mountains guarding the Masaki Valley, it brought its light to a family that has had a very dark night. One in which everyone involved hoped that they could awake from it as though it was a bad dream.  Sadly, it was not a dream, and as realization set in for three of the families' members, one after the other closed their eyes and for a brief moment tried to go back into their dreams. Where they knew it was only a dream and when they awoke everything would be ok again.

For Ryoko the night, her dreams and the reality of things were weighing heavily on her mind.  Over the past five years, she had become very used to the feeling of him beside her.  How his arm would hold her as she slept, how his leg would become entwined with hers as they slept.  Now, there was no arm to hold her, there was no leg to become entwined with, and though she could feel the rise and fall of his chest, and she could hear his breathing, she felt alone.  Lying beside him, although she loved him more than her own life, had become its own torture, a reminder of how her power had hurt him.

Many times, she had thought there was a way to use her power to bring him back to normal, but she couldn't discover how.  It had taken her over five thousand years to actually create her own Light Hawk Wings, 'would it take another five thousand to learn how to use them?' This and other thoughts had plagued her mind, and her dreams.

'Ryoko,' a voice sounded off in her mind.

'Go away.'

'Ryoko, Ryoko, Ryoko, R-Y-O-K-O,' the voice taunted over and over again.

'What?' She mentally screamed.

'I found the answer…' it taunted.

Ryoko sat up in the bed eyes wide. 'You… you did?'

"Ryoko are you ok?" Tenchi asked from beside her.

She just nodded at him, 'Tell me… what did you find out?'

'I need you and Ryo-Ohki in my lab in ten minutes,' she heard Washu tell her then she was gone.

'Washu… Washu…' she was greeted with silence, "Damn it." She looked at him and she smiled, 'maybe she's not playing with me.' Kissing Tenchi quickly, she rushed out of the room saying to him, "Washu needs me in the lab, I'll be right back…" and then she was gone.

"That was strange," Ayeka said getting up.

"Yes, it was…" he added then they too began trying to get ready for the day.

Ryoko flew down the stairs; grabbed Ryo-Ohki before she was even awake as was in the lab a few seconds later.  She could feel her mothers' presence, and more importantly, she could feel that her mom was happy about something and she guessed it was about what ever she discovered.  Bolting through the door leading to where she knew Washu was she was not ready for the sight that greeted her.  In front of her was a bed, but not any bed, but Washu's.  But most importantly on the bed was the nude forms of her mother and Nobuyuki, both barely covered by the sheets and they were currently locked in a passionate kiss.

"M-M-MOM!" She screeched out.

The kiss stopped cold and both of them looked nervous.  Nobuyuki jerked the covers up over his head, as Washu sighed. "I said ten minutes, not ten seconds."

"B-b-but…" Ryoko stuttered as Washu poked her head under the covers and with Ryoko's sensitive hearing she could hear yet another kiss before Washu pulled herself away from him.  As she moved out of the bed Ryoko was shocked to see that her mom was in her adult form again, but she was unable to comment on it.

Pulling Ryoko out of the room, she began to explain her ideas.  "I need you and Ryo-Ohki to go on a hunting trip for me…"

"A hunting trip?"

"Yes, I need you to track down and capture more Masu. I…" she noticed that Ryoko was not understanding why she needed them. "What would you say if I told you I could get Tenchi's arm and leg to grow back, without surgery?"

"What!? You can do that?"

"Yep, Nobuy helped me discover the answer.  He can be such a genius at times…" she stopped at looked at her daughter, "Don't tell him that."  Ryoko nodded mutely, this was bordering on too much for her to handle.  "Good, I have created a stasis pod that I can put into Ryo-Ohki's ship form and I have modified this pulse cannon to only stun the Masu so it can be captured."

"Ok…"

"When you get back, I can then get Tenchi to assimilate with the Masu which will give him the ability to regenerate his body at will."

"REALLY?" Ryoko began to hop around happily.

"Yes, and the faster you get there the better, I can upload the coordinates to Ryo-Ohki easy enough, when will you be leaving?"

"Right now!" Ryoko shouted and after Washu had given the information to them, they were gone.  The only sound that the rest of the family heard was Ryo-Ohki's excited cries as the two of them flew up into the air.

Washu just grinned at her daughter, then disconnecting her lab from the house she returned to her bedroom, where Nobuyuki was waiting.  She stepped through the door to see him trying to pull his pants on, "No way," she grinned at his flustered look. "You promised that we'd go out this weekend, well, I want to stay in…"

Her grin caused him to blush and as she stalked towards him she banished her clothes again, 'I won't be needed these for a while.'  For his part, Nobuyuki just grinned and dropped the trousers before they were even up past his knees before she had kissed him and pushed him back onto the bed.

From inside the house Tenchi and Ayeka could hear Ryo-Ohki leaving. Looking out their window they say the ship vanish into the sky. "I wonder where she's going." Ayeka asked out loud.

"I have not a clue, but I think Ryoko is with her."

She turned towards him, "How can you tell?"

"I-I'm not sure… I more feel that she's not here than anything."

"Oh, I see." She looked back out the window. "I wonder where they are going then."

"I haven't a clue," he told her then the two of them worked to get him dressed and downstairs for breakfast.

Since Tenchi was missing part of his hip and leg he could not hold himself up without help, so Ayeka set him on the end of the couch as she went about getting breakfast for him.  For Tenchi, this was a test of patience and his emotions. He felt useless as he watched Ayeka waddling around the house getting things for him.  'I can't stand this!' he mentally yelled.  With each stoop, he wondered what would happen if she fell over, or if she got hurt, what would he do then? 'Damn it, I've got to do something… I won't live like this.'  Tenchi closed his eyes and tried to concentrate, he knew he was able to call the wings before, so he was hoping that he could do it again.

As he concentrated he heard Ayeka moan and he looked up to see her holding her stomach. "Ayeka!"

Before he even registered what he was doing, Tenchi was beside her, holding her up from where she had nearly fell over.  "Oh thank you Tenchi… I…" she stopped as she realized he was standing on two feet.

When she gasped, he looked to see his second foot was a ghostly sight.  In the light it was barely even visible. But when they moved out of the light, he could see the white opaque leg that the wings had created for him.  "Tenchi… you're foot…"

"And my hand…" he said reaching out towards her.  Ayeka recoiled at first unsure if it would hurt her or not.  Looking at his saddened expression she reached out and touched it.

What followed was more than either of them had planned on. Ayeka felt her body temperature rising and the searing heat seemed almost unbearable.  However, just moments after that heat, there was nothing, only coolness and looking at her hand in his ghostly one, she did not see any damage to it. 'That's a relief,' she thought.'

'I'm sorry, I didn't think it would hurt,' he responded.

She smiled at him; 'even now he's more concerned about me.'

'I will always be concerned…' it was in that moment as he answered her that they both realized the truth of the situation. They had been talking to each other, without opening their lips.

"Ayeka… I was…AHEEE!!" Sasami screamed as she saw the two of them.  Before her, both Tenchi and Ayeka seemed to be enveloped in a white light.  However in the instant that she screamed the light vanished, and he fell towards the floor.

Ayeka stopped his fall and both of them staggered over to the couch before falling onto it. "Tenchi… are you ok?"

'Yea…' he responded mentally hoping he could still hear her, but he was met only by silence. "Yea… I'm ok. I guess." He grumbled the rest and she sighed of relief.

"Isn't there a better place to do that?" A voice called to them from the doorway.  Ayeka jumped up trying to say nothing was going on when she tripped over his foot and ended up falling back onto the couch.

Tenchi was glad to see that she was not hurt, but the mere possibility of her getting hurt seemed to ignite his anger again.  Before any of them could breathe, Tenchi was holding his grandfather up off the floor with one glowing hand.  "Leave her alone! Don't you think you have caused enough pain to her for one lifetime?  If you still want to fight, let's get this over with!"  Tenchi then tossed his surprised grandfather back, and through the glass doors, Tenchi followed closely with a sword appeared in his hand.

Ayeka watched in horror as Tenchi advanced on Yosho, and she was not sure what she felt. Inside she was scared, excited, proud, and nervous.  From the look on Yosho's face, he seemed to mirror some of her feelings as well.  Finally able to take no more, she screamed out, "Tenchi!"

Upon hearing Ayeka's voice, he turned to look at her and he could literally feel her fear.  Turing back to see his grandfather, he noticed that his sword was at his grandfathers neck.  "Oh gods…" he mumbled before falling over.  This time is was Yosho that caught him.  "I… I'm sorry…" he tried to apologize.

"No Tenchi, I should apologize.  I only forced that duel on you to get you to take a stand and defend them. You have, and last night when you talked to me, I knew that you had won the duel."

"But… we didn't even…"

"I know, but even with out being capable of fighting you would have fought to defend them. Your honor, and my sisters' honor, is in tact. There will be no duel as you have already won."

"I have…"

"Yes, I was merely suggesting that you two take yourselves back to your room if you're going to be doing that on the couch."  Yosho laughed as Tenchi grumbled.

"But we weren't doing anything!"

To be continued…

I could always use help with pre-reading the story before the next chapter is posted. If you would like to help please go   
I have the next several chapters posted there for my beta readers to help me on.


	12. Tenchi Masu Part 1

Tenchi Muyo: Choices & Consequences: Tenchi Masu

I do not own Tenchi Muyo, or any of its characters or ideas, but I wish I did.  As for this story, it was written as a sort of what if, while I wait for OVA 3 and GXP to be released stateside.  I started on this after wondering, what if he actually did make a choice?  For those that have read the "True Tenchi Novels" that detail the backgrounds on the characters, I have not read those.  I guess you could say that this is an AU as I have made certain decisions on their backgrounds to fit my story.  And if the Character appear OOC, there is a good reason.

I want to send a very BIG THANKS out to Doug Dennis, Top Quark (Shadow Quark) and Chendzeea Li for helping me with this story.

From Last time:

Ayeka watched in horror as Tenchi advanced on Yosho, and she was not sure what she felt. Inside she was scared, excited, proud, and nervous.  From the look on Yosho's face, he seemed to mirror some of her feelings as well.  Finally able to take no more, she screamed out, "Tenchi!"

Upon hearing Ayeka's voice, he turned to look at her and he could literally feel her fear.  Turing back to see his grandfather, he noticed that his sword was at his grandfathers neck.  "Oh gods…" he mumbled before falling over.  This time is was Yosho that caught him.  "I… I'm sorry…" he tried to apologize.

"No Tenchi, I should apologize.  I only forced that duel on you to get you to take a stand and defend them. You have, and last night when you talked to me, I knew that you had won the duel."

"But… we didn't even…"

"I know, but even with out being capable of fighting you would have fought to defend them. Your honor, and my sisters' honor, is in tact. There will be no duel as you have already won."

"I have…"

"Yes, I was merely suggesting that you two take yourselves back to your room if you're going to be doing that on the couch."  Yosho laughed as Tenchi grumbled.

"But we weren't doing anything!"

And now

Tenchi Muyo: Choices & Consequences: Tenchi Masu

As the day wore on Tenchi reveled in the joy of being free of the duel, and in that he'd won without really having to fight.  However, as the day wore on and darkness began to descend he began to worry.  Not about Ayeka, or about Yosho, but about Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki. She had left earlier that morning; and he could not reach either of them, nor could he get Washu to answer her door.  What was the strangest thing was that even his father was missing.

Ayeka too was concerned about Ryoko's whereabouts.  "Where is that Devil Woman?" She huffed as she frantically searched the house.

"I thought you two were passed that," Tenchi said from the couch.

She only grumbled for a moment before answering him, "I was, but where is she? It's time to start getting ready for bed and we haven't had our soak in the onsen, nor have we had dinner yet, and we can't go to sleep without her."

He looked at her amazed, and then smiled. "You've become used to her then?"

"After sharing a bed with you two for five years how could I not get used to her?  Every day before dinner we'd have a soak in the onsen and…" she trailed off as she remembered days long past, that seemed to be a dream to her of just the three of them, living life together, and in peace.

Tenchi too seemed to be thinking of the same things, but when he could not move off the couch right away, he was brought back to the reality of his new life.  "I guess we should start getting ready for bed… she will be here soon though… she's never been gone this long before."

Ayeka nodded and then calmed down.  "Very well, I am going to see how Sasami's doing." She gave him a quick kiss before leaving the room. 

Entering the kitchen, she watched as her sister went about from the stove to the sink around to the cabinets and back to the stove.  Cutting, chopping, mixing, and preparing a venerable feast.  They had always let her do this, as she seemed happiest cooking.  Occasionally they had tried to get her to stop cooking as much, but then she seemed distraught as someone else cooked.  The elder princess could not help but think that Sasami lorded over the kitchen as though it was her domain, and she couldn't stand it when someone tried to take over her domain.

A small giggle escaped her as she thought of her sister's attitude about the kitchen.  Sasami turned around quickly to see Ayeka standing there, "Hi!" Ayeka still found it strange how cheery her sister sounded all the time.

"Hi," she returned then stepped further into the kitchen. She smiled as Sasami looked worried a moment, 'she probably thinks I've come to take over.  "I was wondering if you have seen Ryoko or Ryo-Ohki. We thought we saw them leave earlier today, but they haven't been gone this long before."

The smile returned to Sasami's face, "Oh, I asked Tsunami about that earlier. She said not to worry about them and that they would be back."

"I see," she said, then grumbled; "I should've asked her sooner." 

"Could you get Washu and Nobuyuki, dinners almost ready," Sasami called over her shoulder as she went back to what she was making.

"I can't, she's disconnected the lab from the house it seems.  Not even Mihoshi can get in."

"Oh, I see.  Tsunami didn't tell me anything about that," she paused a moment, "Have you seen Tenchi's father anywhere?"  When Ayeka shook her head Sasami stopped cooking long enough to close her eyes and think.  She had not wanted to let her sister know about this, but every since she told them about Tsunami's connection to her; she had decided to talk more to the goddess.  The first few times she had been completely unprepared for things, but she's grown more accustomed to talking to the goddess. Even to the point where their eventual assimilation into one body does not scare her much.  Though she is still nervous of it, she is no where near as afraid as she once was.

'Tsunami?' The girl called out mentally.

'I am here,' she heard.

'We can't find Tenchi's father, and we can't contact Washu, her lab isn't there anymore. Do you know where they are?'

'Yes, I know, and I will not look into their private lives.'

'What's wrong?'

She heard a laugh and was relieved, 'There is no problem. They are together… in her lab still. Washu wanted some private time with him…' Sasami was not sure but she thought she could feel the goddess blushing.

Opening her eyes, she noticed her sister watching her carefully.  "Tsunami says that both of them are in her lab… having private time…" Sasami could not help but blush as well; she finally realized what Tsunami was meaning.

"Private time? Why would they want to…" Ayeka suddenly stopped and looked at her sister, "Oh my, I see. Very well then…"

Sasami just giggled, "I guess they won't be joining us for dinner."

Ayeka just blushed that much harder remembering her first time with Tenchi and between her and Ryoko the two of them had not let him out of bed for almost two days after they were married.  "Yes… um, I will… be going now…" she said hastily retreating from the kitchen.

Walking quickly into the living room, she was trying to get her blush under control when a loud screeching noise was heard outside. "What is that?" She looked at Tenchi who just shrugged.  Both looked up quickly as a loud, Miya could be heard.

"Ryo-Ohki!" they shouted. Then the sound suddenly stopped with Ryoko literally falling through the ceiling.

"Tenchi!" She shouted throwing her arms around him.

He scarcely had a chance to take in her appearance, but what he did see was that her clothes were singed and ripped in several places.  As she hugged him, he caught a very bad odor coming off her as if she had been thrown in a swamp.

"Ryoko!" Shouted Ayeka, "Where have you been?"

"And where's Ryo-Ohki?" Sasami asked coming out of the kitchen.

"Oh Washu had her go directly to the lab, but I just had to see Tenchi, I haven't seen you all day!"

He just chuckled. "I am glad to see you too; we were getting worried about you."

"We?" She asked innocently as he motioned his head towards Ayeka.

"You missed me too?" A second Ryoko appeared and began hugging Ayeka too. "Oh that's so sweet of you to miss me!"

"Ryoko! You shameless hussy stop that this instant!" Ayeka shouted as Ryoko just giggled, because despite her protests the princess had actually been worried, and was returning the hug, though not being so obvious about it.  Sasami just laughed and Ayeka sighed. "Very well," she said trying to sound indifferent, as she hugged Ryoko back.  "Uh…" she pulled away quickly, "You smell like you've been playing in… in… oh I don't know!"

Ryoko looked slightly hurt, but Tenchi added, "She's been compiling that you two haven't had your soak before dinner and I think she missed it." 

Ayeka shot him a dirty look causing him to laugh while Ryoko hopped around excitedly, "Really? Let's go then!"  And with one body grabbing Tenchi and the other grabbing Ayeka, they flew out to the onsen.

Mihoshi had seen the exchange and she looked at Sasami wondering what had happened. "I don't know, but they are going to be late for dinner. Will you help me fix the table?" This seemed to cheer up the blonde as she followed Sasami to the kitchen.

Outside in the onsen Tenchi was feeling a little out of place. "Um, I thought you two wanted some time to talk?"

"But we did…" Ryoko started then trained off.

"Then why am I here?"

"Well, because I needed to talk to both of you."

"Ok, go on," urged Ayeka.

"Well, it's about the hunting trip I went on today…"

"Hunting trip?" Both Tenchi and Ayeka looked at each other confused.

"Yes, Washu's found a way to help that doesn't include putting any implants in or even giving you a mechanical leg…" Ryoko was trying hard to sell them on what Washu had decided on.

"Just tell us Ryoko!" Ayeka demanded.

"Ok… Washu's found a way to join you with Masu cells."  Ryoko said it quickly and it took a moment for the others to understand what she meant.

"You mean those things that tried to kill me!"  Ryoko only nodded slightly, she had hoped he would have forgotten about that.

"Miss Ryoko! I can't believe this, why would you ask that?"

"Because we don't have another choice!" Ryoko snapped back.  "Don't you see? If he has the Masu cells then he can regenerate his leg and his arm… then he… he can…"

"I can what?"  Tenchi was shocked, but not enough to miss the tears in Ryoko's eyes.

"I can't sleep anymore… not since then… I feel you… both of you… but…"

"But I can't hold you anymore," he said and she nodded.  She hadn't meant to say it, especially this way. "I know; I can't stand not holding both of you like I used to… but are you sure this is the only way?"

Ryoko looked up slightly happier than a moment ago.  "We're sure of it. When I went to go get them, I looked at what mom's got in mind. The Masu will be contained, so they won't be a threat.  With you joining with them, they can re-grow any part of you that gets hurt or cut off."

Tenchi knew how he felt for both of the girls and he knew how they felt for him.  And while he was nervous about this, he knew that Ryoko would not go along with this if she thought it would hurt him. "Are you sure about this?"  She just nodded her head.

"Tenchi! I can't believe you're going to do this!" Ayeka cried out.

"I have to," both girls looked at him strangely, "I trust you both, Ryoko I said I would trust you with my life, and I meant it." He blushed as they both looked at him with love in their eyes.  "If you think this will help then it sounds good to me."

"Great! And then when you duel Yosho you can kick his ass!" Ryoko cheered.

"About the duel…" Ayeka began.

"What?"

"I already won it," Tenchi told her smiling.

"You did? When? How? I wanted to see it!" Ryoko protested.

"But you did see it," Ayeka tried to hide a laugh.

"I did?"  Even Tenchi could not hide a laugh, as she looked confused.  "Damn it! Tell me!"

"Remember last night, when we saw him on the way upstairs?" He asked.

"Yea, boy did he look surprised when you told him off! I bet he was…." She suddenly stopped as they looked at her smiling. "You mean then? That was then?"  Tenchi was laughing, while Ayeka tried to hide her laughing behind her hands.  "Damn…"

"It's ok…" he told her, "He didn't tell me that until today."  Tenchi thought it best not to say that he had pulled the Light Hawk Sword on his grandfather.  "Well… when do we start this?"

"I think tomorrow morning some time… she was in a hurry when we came back…" she rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

"Well…" Tenchi began, "she's uh…"

"She's been in the lab with Nobuyuki all day, they haven't even come out for dinner," Ayeka supplied when it was obvious that Tenchi was not going to be able to say it.

"Mom's with him! All day!" She just grinned as they nodded, "I bet she's even disconnected the lab from the house too."

Ayeka grinned as well, "She has."

The three laughed and carried on until a familiar voice was heard, "What's so funny in here?"

All three turned around to see Washu standing there, "Oh hi…" Tenchi tried then noticed she was in her adult form. 'This is going to take a little getting used to.'

"Well I thought you might want to get started.  I've got everything set up and ready to go, and Ryoko, did you have to push Ryo-Ohki so hard? Once she landed she fell asleep and she's probably gonna be sleeping until morning."

Ryoko grinned, "Oh I don't know… did you have to push Nobuyuki so hard? I bet he's asleep right now too."  Washu blushed and Tenchi and Ayeka laughed as quietly as they could. "Ryo-Ohki wanted to get there and back as soon as she could, it was her doing. Hell, she was a slave driver!  When one of those things caught me by surprise and blasted me into this… this… hell I don't know what it was, but she wouldn't even let me change clothes!"

"I see, well she is very loyal to Tenchi too, and since she thought this would help him she got a little carried away," Washu told her daughter trying not to laugh.

"Miss Washu?" Ayeka inquired, "Is this… um, procedure safe?"

"Safe! You know I would never put Tenchi in needless danger."  A few snickers were heard from them as she said that. Shrugging her shoulders and letting out a sigh she added, "Look when I did those things before I never put him in danger, yea he was uncomfortable, but not in danger."

"Ok Washu, I'll believe you." He told her.

"That's mother Washu to you," she added with a grin.

"Mother?" he mouthed.

"Yep, since you married my Little Ryoko, you are now my son!"

"That's son-in-l…" Ayeka started but a glare from Washu cut her short.

"So help me if you call me that I'll make sure you have twins and triplets from now on!"  A startled 'eep' was heard from the princess as Tenchi just grinned.

"Very well, Mother Washu," Tenchi said smiling, "When do we get started?"

Washu snapped her fingers and black portals appeared underneath all of them.  Tenchi landed on a medical bed, while Ryoko landed on the floor with Ayeka landing on a stack of pillows. Washu, of course, landed on her feet standing beside him.  "Oh sure, she gets to land on pillows…" Ryoko grumbled rubbing her sore backside.

"Well Tenchi would not have wanted Ayeka to risk getting hurt so I had to make sure she would be ok."

"I appreciate that Washu," Ayeka said standing slowly.

"Actually Mother Washu, I would like for you to show both of my wives more respect," Tenchi said from the bed and Washu looked at him startled.

"Very well… son," she told him smiling.  "Now what I am going to do is lie you back in this tank, then the Masu will be positioned around you. All you have to do is concentrate on making them a part of you."

"But won't they sense his powers and attack like before?" Ayeka asked still concerned.

"As I had to tell Ryoko several times, they are no threat right now.  I had them stunned and they are carefully sedated right now."

"Sedated?"  All three asked in wonder.

"Hay they aren't much different from humans in the way drugs affect them, but don't worry it shouldn't cause you any discomfort."  She hoped that none of this would, but she had never tried it on someone before, so she was still unsure.

Tenchi lay there as he was lowered into a tube, and the first thing he felt was a slimy feeling of being placed into a vat of grease.  He was thankful that it was not hot, so as to burn him, but he was also still wondering how this was going to help him.  As he hung there he tried to think about what Washu said, but he was interrupted by a voice in his head.

'Who are you?'

'Huh? I'm Tenchi.'

'Why are you here? Why are we here?'

'Are you the Masu?'

'Masu? We are what we are.'

'Um, I see…'

'What do you want?'

'To be… me again… I guess.'

'Are you not you?'

'Um, yea…'

'Are we not we?'

'Um… I guess.'

'Then why are we here?'

Tenchi had never been told before much about the Masu, only that they have a strong mental collective, but if a more dominant force were applied then they would bend themselves to that will.  'I need you, I was hurt, and I can't do what I used to.'  He began to form in his mind what he used to look like, with both arms and both legs, allowing the collective to see it.  'Ryoko, my love, has the power to re-grow any part of her that was cut off. She said that it is because of you that she can do this.'

Tenchi could feel the collective thoughts running through his own; they seemed to be interested in him and more importantly in his feelings.  'What are these… feelings… love, anger?'

'Join with me, and I can show you.'  Tenchi hoped that this would work. For a brief moment, it seemed to as they began to completely cover his body.  But then he felt something, and it was not good.

'You trick us! We feel your power, you want to hurt us!'

"No! Stop!" he screamed out in agony as the Masu began to press in on his body seemingly crushing it.

'You want to hurt us!'

"NO! That's not it!" He called out as Washu tried to do something.  Ayeka and Ryoko he could barley hear but they were screaming as well and were scared.

'Just… I just…'

'You trick us.'

'No… join with me… if… you can feel what I feel… you … k-know…' Tenchi felt himself beginning to loose consciousness, "I love… y--you… Ryoko…Ayek…." He lost his ability to think and speak as blackness surrounded him.

"Tenchi!" Ryoko and Ayeka were yelling. "Damn it! Washu get him out of there!"

"I can't they've severed the support cords… they're crushing him…"

"Then I'll blow them away!"  Ryoko began to gather energy for a blast when she stopped… "If I attack it'll hurt Tenchi…"

Ayeka screamed out, "If you don't they'll kill him!"

"But I… I can't shoot at him…."

"NO! Tenchi!" Ayeka screamed out before falling on the floor crying, "No…" she said in a low voice.  "I won't loose him… not yet."

Before even Washu or Ryoko could stop her, Ayeka flung herself at the Masu cells that were crushing Tenchi, "No! You can't have him!"  Washu watched as Ayeka crashed into the tank, breaking it open and trying to free Tenchi.  "No! You… can't have him!"

'But he tricked us.' She heard in her mind.

'What?'

'He tricked us, he wants to harm us.'

'No he…' she paused as she realized what was going on.  Reaching her hand into the mist of the Masu, she grabbed his hand. "Tenchi, come back to me."

'You are one he loves.'

"Yes," she said gritting her teeth as she pulled him out.

'Why do you save him?'

"Because I love him!" Ryoko and Washu watched as the Masu soon covered Ayeka as well, but she continued to struggle, with pulling Tenchi out.  "We only thought this would help him walk again… We just want him back…" she cried out as tears streamed down her face.

'Then you shall have him…' she heard the voice say as the Masu suddenly let go of him and the two of them fell onto the floor. She was breathing hard, while he did not seem to be breathing.

"Washu!" She cried out.

"Right," Washu set herself in motion; "Ryoko put the Masu back in a tank… I'll take care of him."

Washu put him on a table and began to check him over, and besides several broken bones and bruises he seemed to be ok, the worst part was that he had stopped breathing several times.  When she had restored his breathing to normal and had him stabilized so that he was not in danger of dying she began to re-examine him. She feared that he might have suffered some brain damage or other problems, but she breathed out a sigh of relief when she discovered that he would be ok.

"This is good, brainwave, heart rate and bodily functions are normal again."

"That's good," Ayeka breathed a sigh of relief from beside him.

"Well I have the Masu rounded up, but I think some got away," Ryoko announced entering the room.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, there's not a lot of them things left," she shrugged, "I caught a lot more them, over half of them are gone."

To be continued…

I could always use help with pre-reading the story before the next chapter is posted. If you would like to help please go   
I have the next several chapters posted there for my beta readers to help me on.


	13. Tenchi Masu Part 2

Tenchi Muyo: Choices & Consequences: Tenchi Masu, part 2

I do not own Tenchi Muyo, or any of its characters or ideas, but I wish I did.  As for this story, it was written as a sort of what if, while I wait for OVA 3 and GXP to be released stateside.  I started on this after wondering, what if he actually did make a choice?  For those that have read the "True Tenchi Novels" that detail the backgrounds on the characters, I have not read those.  I guess you could say that this is an AU as I have made certain decisions on their backgrounds to fit my story.  And if the Character appear OOC, there is a good reason.

I want to send a very BIG THANKS out to Doug Dennis and Ring Princess for helping me with this story's plot. Also I would like to thank Johnny G., Rob F. jhawk46 and Kirk P for all the help with the grammar and spelling.  With so many mistakes I needed a hell of a crew to fix them.

From Last time:

Washu put him on a table and began to check him over, and besides several broken bones and bruises he seemed to be ok, the worst part was that he had stopped breathing several times.  When she had restored his breathing to normal and had him stabilized so that he was not in danger of dying she began to re-examine him. She feared that he might have suffered some brain damage or other problems, but she breathed out a sigh of relief when she discovered that he would be ok.

"This is good, brainwave, heart rate and bodily functions are normal again."

"That's good," Ayeka breathed a sigh of relief from beside him.

"Well I have the Masu rounded up, but I think some got away," Ryoko announced entering the room.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, there's not a lot of them things left," she shrugged, "I caught a lot more them, over half of them are gone."

And now

Tenchi Muyo: Choices & Consequences: Tenchi Masu, part 2

Blackness surrounded him, in all directions there was nothing for the eye to perceive. Blinking his eyes, he still could not discern a difference between when they were opened and closed.  He could not even tell that he was standing on anything, yet he did not fall.  "Where am I?"

"You are safe…" a voice responded. At first, he was not sure if the voice was in his head or from somewhere around him, but it was not menacing.

"Safe? I can't even see the floor."  Even as he said the words he could feel the ground beneath his feet providing him support.  When he realized he was receiving two distinct feelings from his feet he felt like jumping for joy, but not seeing anything around him yet he remained in his place and shouted out, "Alright! Its back!"

"Your leg? Yes, as is your arm."

He began to take in his surroundings and gently the light began to filter in around him.  As soon as he could he looked at his hand, and his leg, "This is great!" He then looked around. "But where am I?"

A form began to come into view before him bathed in a bright light. As the light faded the form remained and he recognized it as Tsunami.  "You are with me, you are safe."

"What happened?"

"I felt the Masu attacking you, so I protected you until you could be saved."

"You felt them attack me? How… why?"

"We are connected, in a way."

Tenchi was confused, "In a way?"

"Yes, though not like Sasami and I are."  He looked at her trying to understand. "When Sasami was injured, to save her I assimilated partially with her, and in the next few years that joining will become complete. For you I just gave to you a power that would better suit you. But that power is still connected to me, though not bound to me."

"I… I think I understand." He scratched his head trying to understand.  "But why am I here?"

"I had to pull your spirit and power away from your body for a moment so the Masu would not perceive you as a threat and allow your body to be rescued.  You will be rejoined with it soon."

"So… I'm not in my body?"  She shook her head, "I knew it was too good to be true," he said looking at his hand.

"No," she said brightly, "Washu's idea was a success, your body was joined with the Masu and when you return to your body then you will be whole again."  He smiled happily.  "But I had another reason for bringing you here."

"What is it?"

"Times are changing Tenchi, and certain things need to happen…"

"What things?"  He realized that she sounded nervous and a nervous goddess was not a good thing; this made him nervous as well.

"Tenchi, the time will come when Sasami and I must leave here…."

"Leave!  You can't leave!" He interrupted her frantically.

"But we must."

"Why?" He pleaded with her.

"That I cannot tell you yet, but as I said, certain things must happen.  You will have at least two more years before we are to leave."

"Just two years?"

"I know it does not seem long enough, but we will be needed elsewhere." She tried to reassure him, but she knew that Sasami would be crushed when they had to go, but hopefully she could have the others ready in time so that the pain they felt would not be so great.  "Tenchi," he looked up as she called his name, as he had been unaware that he was staring at the ground.  "Please, do not make this harder on her.  She will need your support and encouragement.  If you fight this, then it will only hurt her more in the end."

Thinking it over Tenchi realized that she was right and he grudgingly agreed.  "Ok, I may not like it, but I will give her all of the support I can."

"Thank you Tenchi," she told him and placed her hand on his cheek.  "It is time for you to return…"

Tenchi blinked his eyes open then instantly regretted it, he groaned out something about the lights and he placed his left hand over his eyes so he could open them again.

"Ah, welcome back Tenchi." 

He heard the voice and he tried to force him mind to think about who it could be.  'I haven't been squeezed to death so it must not be Ayeka or Ryoko…' he thought then sighed. "Washu…"

"You don't sound too happy to see me."

"Can you dim the lights a little…" he groaned out.  From beside him he could hear her chuckling.  "It's not funny.  Where's…" he was going to ask where his wives were, but a pair of voices interrupted.

"TENCHI!" He heard two people yell out, and he barely had time to move his arm before one of them plowed into him knocking him off the bed.

"Oh Tenchi! I'm so glad you're ok! I've been worried about you!" The voice said quickly before they even touched the floor.  When he landed, it was on something soft, so he assumed he had landed on her.

Tenchi blinked a number of times and was about to open his mouth when a second set of arms wrapped around him. "Oh Tenchi! I was so scared… are you ok now? I missed you!"  From the shape of the form and the voice, he knew that Ayeka was leaning over his back as he was laying on Ryoko.

"I'm fine…" he finally told them while placing is left arm under Ryoko.  He smiled as he could feel her again through his hand. 'Tsunami was right, they did grow back,' he thought happily.  Twisting slightly he placed his right arm around Ayeka and he rolled so that he was on his back on the floor.

Upon coming in contact with the floor, he was suddenly aware of several things. First of which, was that the floor was cold, followed quickly by the realization that so was his whole backside. This then made him aware that he was in a hospital gown, which was open in the back. But all of that meant nothing to him as he could feel again with his left arm and leg.  "It's good to be back," he told them happily and pulled them both of them into a tight embrace, which they returned happily.

"You've been out for several hours," Washu told him. "I'm not sure how it happened, and I'm sorry.  But the Masu…"

"I know mother Washu."

"You do?" Three voices chorused.

He groaned slightly as his eyes became adjusted to the light, and as he thought he was holding Ryoko and Ayeka while Washu watched from nearby.  "Yes, Tsunami…"

"I should have known!" Washu threw her arms up and paced around.

"What did she do?" Ayeka asked him.

"She said she… pulled my spirit out of my body…"

"She what!" Ryoko shrieked.

"The Masu felt the wings and reacted, they were scared of it… but I felt some trying to help me…"

"That's not possible," Washu said dropping onto her floating pillow.

"I don't know, but I heard them ask what I wanted and I felt them agreeing, then it changed. Some of them…"

"Wait…" Washu interrupted, "they asked you?"

"Yea, it was kind of strange," he added with a slight grin.

"I'll say," she mumbled as he watched the scientist lean back thinking.  Sitting back up she smiled at him, "Though it looks like the Masu did their job, you're back to normal and your broken bones are completely healed, and in record time too."

"Broken bones?" He asked then thought better of it as he really didn't want to know right now.  "Ayeka, Ryoko," he said quietly, prompting them to look at him again.  "There's something that we need to talk about."

"Oh?" they asked nervously. Having lived with him for many years, they've become able to pick up on when something was troubling him.  Ryoko appeared behind Ayeka and helped her off the floor, while Tenchi lifted himself up onto his feet.

Standing before them he grinned like a fool and looked down at his feet.  "I've never realized how much I take things for granted…" he mused as the other three laughed.  After finally getting them or at least Washu to wait outside this little room, Tenchi put on a change of clothes that Ryoko had brought for him.  The conversation he knew he was going to have with them in a few moments was not going to be an easy one. But time had taught him that it's best to tell them outright and soon to avoid the pain and problems later. 'Well as much pain as possible,' he thought.

However, his talk with them was put off for several hours. After stepping out of Washu's Lab into the living room, his family rushed him.  Each one was blubbering and crying about how happy they were that he was back to normal.  It took him some time to pry his father off him, and even longer for Mihoshi.  Ayeka and Ryoko he did not have to worry about since they had tackled him earlier.  Ryo-Ohki was attached firmly to his new leg in her toddler form with Sasami holding on to his other leg.

Tenchi jumped when he heard a voice from behind him; "It's good to see you're back on your feet."

Jerking himself around, he came face to face with a smiling Yosho. "Yea, it seems I've got more than luck on my side."

"True, but luck will not win you a battle, I wish to see you at the shrine early tomorrow."

"Why? I thought you said I won the duel!"

"That you have," he laughed, "but I want to see how well you remember your training."

"Ah, do I have to?" Tenchi whined prompting those around to laugh or snicker softly in remembrance of his past attitudes towards training.

"Yes, and I want you there too Ryoko," he said pointing a finger at the former pirate.

"Me?"

"Yes, it was your idea to train him; I want to see how good of a teacher you are.  I have a feeling you've been soft on him."

Ryoko's face reddened, "I may have been soft with him in bed, but not on the field," she almost shouted.

Immediately Ayeka began to laugh and Mihoshi's face turned a bright red.  "Ryoko!" the elder princess scolded, "You needn't tell him that!"

"Huh?" Ryoko then thought about what she said and the family was treated to a rare sight as Ryoko began to blush and sputter. "Well… I-I you see, that is… I didn't mean to…"

Walking up behind his sputtering wife, Tenchi placed his arms around her, and then placed his head near her ears before speaking, "You may have been the softer one, but I'll never complain."

"TENCHI!"

"Well sister," Ayeka added playfully, "it looks like you've finally met your match in being brash."

"Shove it princess!"

"Oh such language," she giggled.

The pirate grumbled a moment then added, "Well at least we know he wasn't soft on you."

"WHAT!" The two glared at each other, "How dare you… um…" Ayeka seemed to calm down quickly when she heard Mihoshi laughing. When she looked to her brother, a giggle escaped her, as Yosho was looking between them with a very red face.

"I… think I will be going now…" he told them as he tried to rush out the door.

"I've never seen him that way," Ryoko added with an evil smirk. "As for you…" she said as she turned to face Tenchi. "You are going to have to be extra hard on me tonight."

"Oh my!" Mihoshi giggled and blushed.

He just raised an eyebrow at her as Nobuyuki began rushing around… "I've got to find it… I've got to find it! My son's finally a man… I've got to write this down in the album…. You there stay right there so I can get a picture!"

"Oh boy," Tenchi sighed then rested his head on Ryoko's shoulder who just patted his back while trying to contain her laughter.

"I've got it!"  Their father bubbled as he rushed them to get a picture.  "Now just stand right there, and smile!"

"Tenchi," his wives called to get his attention.

"Huh, yea?"

"Your father…" Ayeka started to say, but Ryoko interrupted.

"You mean our father now."

"Yes, our father said to smile. Don't you feel like smiling?"

"Our father…" the two girls turned to see that Nobuyuki was frantically wiping tears out of his eyes.

"Sorry, I was thinking about something… I can't believe how lucky I am." He hugged them close, and none of the three noticed his father taking their picture.  "Just yesterday I could not stand on my own, and you didn't turn away from me… even though I hurt you both…"

"Tenchi…" Ryoko wanted to say more, but a lump in her throat choked the words out.

"I love you both; I never want to lose either of you…" He leaned in and kissed one, and then the other as his father continued to take pictures, still none of them noticing.  Finally, Tenchi looked up from them to see that his father was still taking pictures.

Nobuyuki watched as Tenchi pulled them closer. He maneuvered them so that they were leaning on him and their sides were facing the camera.  A wry grin then played across Tenchi's lips as he made a show of moving his hands out away from the girls. His hands moved down their bodies until they were just inches away from their protruding backsides.  Choking back a laugh, Nobuyuki positioned his camera to get their reactions. Hearing a giggle beside him, he cocked his head to the side to see that Mihoshi was nearly beside herself trying to contain her laughter, though she seemed to be failing.  Both watched as Tenchi counted down from three to one silently, before he grabbed both of his wives. 

"Tenchi!" A voice called from the doorway just as his hands pinched his wives who let out twin shrieks of surprise just as the camera flashed.  Sasami watched as Tenchi barely ducked the twin slaps from his wives and she could only laugh as they both tried to catch him.  Her eyes turned to Nobuyuki who was watching with tears in his eyes.  From her connection to Tsunami, she knew what he was thinking about, but instead of feeling sad, she felt a sense of elation.  'Soon his sorrows will be over,' Tsunami told her, 'he now has Washu to help.' 

Trying not to laugh too hard, Sasami went back to the kitchen to finish preparations for dinner that night, and since Tenchi was now fully healed, they had a lot to celebrate.  She had just returned to her preparations when a shrill scream echoed through the house.  Dropping the cookware Sasami raced back into the living room.  Nobuyuki stood with his mouth agape.  Mihoshi stood beside him and her eyes were much wider than she had seen them before.  Both of them seemed to be looking in the same direction, so following their gaze she saw her sister standing in front of one of the large windows.  She seemed to be staring out the window with her hands over her mouth trying to stifle another scream.

Moving beside her sister, Sasami looked out the window to see Tenchi and Ryoko, lying on the deck staring back at what she first thought was Ayeka.  "What's wrong?" She asked worriedly causing her sister to jump in a very un-proper way.

Tenchi stood up with Ryoko floating behind him.  He walked to the glass and put his hand on it as though he were inspecting it.

Sasami was becoming very worried, but before she could move Washu bounded out of her lab over to the window and looked at it, then at Tenchi before she smirked at him.  "Miss Washu," Sasami called to get her attention, "what happened?"

"Well it seems that Tenchi has just used one of his new powers," she stated in an all too happy manner.

This seemed to reanimate the princess. "What do you mean new powers?"

Pressing his hand on the glass Tenchi smiled as his hand began to pass though it causing Sasami to jump back surprised.  Slowly Tenchi forced more of his hand, and arm through the glass before pulling it back.  The lopsided grin on his face reminded Sasami of how her sister looked when she was given a new toy.

Ryoko touched his shoulder smiling as well before he tried it again, this time he reached through and nearly touched Ayeka before she fainted.  But before she could hit the ground Tenchi rushed through the glass and caught her.  The whole time Sasami was just standing and watching this in awe.  She had only seen two that could do this before so easily, Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki…

Ryoko passed thought the glass as well as Tenchi moved his other wife to the couch.  "Tenchi…." She said excitedly, "You… you… phased…"

"Quite right my daughter," Washu added rather smugly.  "And there's no telling what he may do in the future as well!"

"What do you mean Mother Washu?" Tenchi asked.

"You now have the Masu cells in you and they will continue to bond with your body, and you may very well pick up some more of Ryoko's abilities…"

"Why?" Both Tenchi and Ryoko asked as one then they grinned at each other.

Washu just sniggered at them, "Because you both have the Masu cells in you, and Ryo-Ohki too has them, though both Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki will still be better at it that he will."

"Why's that?" Mihoshi asked as she moved closer.

"Because, Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki each have a gem which boost their powers!"  Washu began to laugh though to everyone else it seemed she was cackling like the mad scientists in a B movie.

Ryoko hung her head as her mom cackled; though Tenchi reached out to hold her hand.  His other hand held Ayeka's as she rested on the couch.  She had still not woke up from passing out, and he knew he would have to explain this to her.  He had to admit to himself that this was definitely a shock; he could barely believe it as well.  Ryoko had been chasing him around the room when she had tackled him sending them flying through the air.  Both had been laughing through it all, at least until Tenchi saw that they were headed for the window.  He didn't have time to warn her, or to get her to phase, so he just wrapped his arms around her and the next thing he knew they were out outside. No shattering glass, no debris falling, and there was not even a scratch on the window.

Ryoko had looked bewildered and asked how they got outside, which had caused Tenchi to become concerned.  "If you didn't do that, then who did?" He had asked her.  She had no answer then, but now everything seemed to be making more sense to them both.

Once his other wife had finally became conscious again he moved her to a sitting position and then moved in behind her so that she could lean on him.  Nobuyuki just gushed about the changes in his son though Tenchi ignored most of it.   "Ayeka, are you ok?"

"Huh? Oh yea…I was…" she stopped and spun around to inspect him carefully.  Heedless of the others watching she examined his face, his neck, and then deftly lifting up his shirt she examined his chest, sides and back before moving to his arms.

"Ayeka! Ayeka! Ayeka!" Tenchi yelled between laughing and blushing from embarrassment.  He finally got her to stop by holding on to her hands.  "Ayeka, I'm fine… are you ok?"

"But... the glass and you went through… and…"

"I'm ok… I fazed us through it," he told her softly.

Her eyes went wide, "You!?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"Well it was really the Masu," Washu added breaking in.  "The Masu reacted to the threat by phasing him through the glass and since Ryoko was being held by him, her too."

"The Masu did that?" Ayeka repeated looking between Tenchi and Washu.

For the next thirty minutes Washu gave anyone that would listen a detailed description of what the Masu could do for him now that they had become a part of him.  Surprisingly there were three that listened with rapt attention; those same three happened to be married to each other. And so for the first time since being freed from her prison, Washu had a very eager audience.  At least she had them until Sasami came back into the room and announced it was dinnertime.

To be honest Washu had not even noticed when Sasami had left the room, but she guessed it must have been after Ayeka woke up.  But regardless of when she left, she had made up for it in the amounts of food that were now available to them.  Once dinner was served, Ryoko took to celebrating the most, though Ayeka then Tenchi closely followed her.  Though Tenchi only had one drink of sake; Ayeka had even less, but she made up for it with her tea.  Nobuyuki thought for sure that Ryoko would drink all of the sake in the house, so he made sure to hide some of it.  However with having Tenchi back to full capacity and then some, he could of cared less if she had drank every bottle in the house.

To be Continued…

I could always use help with pre-reading the story before the next chapter is posted. If you would like to help please go   
I have the next several chapters posted there for my beta readers to help me on.


	14. Tenchi Masu Part 3

Tenchi Muyo: Choices & Consequences:  Tenchi Masu: Part 3

I do not own Tenchi Muyo, or any of its characters or ideas, but I wish I did.  As for this story, it was written as a sort of what if, while I wait for OVA 3 and GXP to be released stateside.  I started on this after wondering, what if he actually did make a choice?  For those that have read the "True Tenchi Novels" that detail the backgrounds on the characters, I have not read those.  I guess you could say that this is an AU as I have made certain decisions on their backgrounds to fit my story.  And if the Character appear OOC, there is a good reason.

I want to send a very BIG THANKS out to Doug Dennis and Ring Princess for helping me with this story's plot. Also I would like to thank Johnny G., Rob F. jhawk46 and Kirk P for all the help with the grammar and spelling.  With so many mistakes I needed a hell of a crew to fix them.

From Last time:

Once his other wife had finally became conscious again he moved her to a sitting position and then moved in behind her so that she could lean on him.  Nobuyuki just gushed about the changes in his son though Tenchi ignored most of it.   "Ayeka, are you ok?"

"Huh? Oh yea…I was…" she stopped and spun around to inspect him carefully.  Heedless of the others watching she examined his face, his neck, and then deftly lifting up his shirt she examined his chest, sides and back before moving to his arms.

"Ayeka! Ayeka! Ayeka!" Tenchi yelled between laughing and blushing from embarrassment.  He finally got her to stop by holding on to her hands.  "Ayeka, I'm fine… are you ok?"

"But... the glass and you went through… and…"

"I'm ok… I fazed us through it," he told her softly.

Her eyes went wide, "You!?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"Well it was really the Masu," Washu added breaking in.  "The Masu reacted to the threat by phasing him through the glass and since Ryoko was being held by him, her too."

"The Masu did that?" Ayeka repeated looking between Tenchi and Washu.

For the next thirty minutes Washu gave anyone that would listen a detailed description of what the Masu could do for him now that they had become a part of him. 

And now

Tenchi Muyo: Choices & Consequences:  Tenchi Masu: Part 3

It was early in the morning when Tenchi awoke and the first thing he felt was that both of his arms were completely numb.  No feeling or sensation passed though either one of them and at first he was scared that yesterday was just a dream.  At least he thought so until a sharp pain came from both of his hands as feeling began to return.  Grinning he moved his hands up and down the back of the two reason his arms were numb.  Ayeka was asleep on one side of him, and Ryoko on the other.  Both had been lying partially on his arms effectively cutting off enough circulation to cause them to go numb.  Though there was a stabbing pain in his arms at moving them he relished the pain and knew that just twenty four hours ago this was not possible. 

Slowly the two of them began to wake up as well and began to move about.  Ayeka seemed to be tired, almost worn out while the smile that graced Ryoko's face showed that she was very sated and content with things.  Slowly one of his grins played across his face as he realized why.  Washu had told him that the Masu provide many things, energy being one of them and his two wives had tested that theory last night much to his pleasure.  He felt sorry for Ayeka though, she had tried to keep up, but she had fallen asleep out of exhaustion last night and it seemed she was still tired this morning.

"Ayeka?" he asked concerned.

"Hum?" she responded though she seemed to still be asleep.

"You can still rest if you need to…"

"Aw, is the little Princess too tired to get up?" Ryoko teased though Tenchi gave her a look that cut off any other remarks.

"No… I am fine…." Ayeka told them as tried to sit up.

With Tenchi's help, Ayeka was able to sit up; though it was Ryoko that decided on the best way to wake the princess up.  "Come on princess; let's take a bath before breakfast." With that said Ryoko grabbed the princess and the two disappeared from his view.  Tenchi too went to get cleaned up before breakfast, though with the girls in the onsen he went instead to the in-house bath and took his shower there.

When he made his way downstairs he could smell breakfast wafting in from the kitchen.  Grinning Tenchi made his way into the kitchen to find that Sasami already had a good bit of breakfast ready.  "Morning Tenchi," she smiled happily as she flitted about the area finalizing their breakfast.

"Morning Sasami," he replied and sat down at his place.  "Aren't you a bit early on breakfast?"

"Not at all, brother came down about an hour ago for his breakfast, and he is waiting for you and Ryoko up at the shrine."  Tenchi groaned out and bowing his head he said a silent prayer that he was not in too much trouble.  "Now eat up," she smiled happily at him.

Tenchi was about halfway through breakfast when his wives appeared beside him.  Ayeka still looked tired, but she was definitely awake, while Ryoko still wore a smile bigger than he had ever seen on her.  "Oh Tenchi…" Ryoko cooed at him. "You didn't wait for us."

He was about to reply when Sasami placed a plate of food in front of Ryoko. "Eat up because brother is waiting on you this morning!"

"Brother?" she looked confused.

"Yosho," Tenchi said between bites.

Hanging her head Ryoko asked, "He wasn't serious was he?"

"Yes, and he is waiting on you two already so I made sure your breakfast was ready to go."  Looking up at Sasami's smile Ryoko grinned and dug into her breakfast.  Ryoko teleported with Tenchi out of the dining room, after the two of them had finished breakfast; which left Ayeka with her sister.  "Ayeka?" the little princess called.

"Yes Sasami?"

"You look tired, are you ok?"

Ayeka's face flushed a bright red and she was not sure how to tell her sister why she was tired… so she just tried to play it off. "Oh… I just didn't get much sleep last night… I'm fine."

"Yea, I didn't think any of you did, there were a lot of strange noises coming from your room last night."

Choking on her food Ayeka tried to regain her composure. Failing that she just tried to not die of embarrassment.  "Um… yes… well…" Ayeka stuttered and finally decided to give up on it, "I need to go see Miss Washu."

"Whatever for?" a nasally voice said from behind her.

"Oh um… for my check up…" the elder princess tried.

"Check up… but…" Washu was about to say more when Ayeka stood up and faced her with pleading eyes.  Grinning Washu decided to help her, "Right your check up… well that can wait till after breakfast… I'm starving!"  Ayeka's shoulders slumped and she looked at the small scientist in a helpless fashion, she had wanted to get away from this conversation as quickly as possible.

"Are you going to see what's wrong with Ayeka, Little Washu?" Sasami asked innocently as she brought out some more food for her.

"Something's wrong with her?"

Before Ayeka could brush it off her sister decided to be very helpful.  "Yea, I said that she looked tired and she said that she did not get much sleep but with the noises in their room last night it sounded like she was in a lot of pain."

Ayeka's face was so red she thought she was going to die right there, and with Washu suddenly starting to snicker at her it really didn't help matters.  "Well," Washu began as she tried hard not to laugh.  "I think I know of a way to help them, she said casting a look at Ayeka before adding, "Oh I mean her."

"Thank you Little Washu!" The young princess nearly sang as she dashed back into the kitchen. 

Once she was in the kitchen though she heard a voice in her head.  'Why did you say all of that?'

'Because…' Sasami replied to the voice knowing it was Tsunami.

'Because? That is not a reason,' Tsunami replied.

'No, but it was fun….'

'Fun?  Yes, it was interesting though I do not understand the need to pick on your sister like that.'

'Oh Tsunami, You've got to learn to have a little fun… Like when I go out to play with Ryo-Ohki, or when Ayeka and I do things together… Didn't you and your sisters ever do things together?'  Silence greeted her and then she felt something from the goddess, remorse.  'Oh Tsunami, I'm sorry.'

'No, it is not your fault…. Being a goddess the idea of family and fun never really became an issue.  Though I would have liked to have had more time with them.'

Sasami went about her morning routine as usual though she continued to listen to Tsunami, she learned from the goddess that she was the youngest of three sisters, the oldest sister was currently hiding her presence while her other sister had not talked to her in about 20,000 years.

'That's a long time,' Sasami told her.

'To mortals it is, to a goddess it is not very long.'

'Will I live to be that old?'

'Yes, and more.' the goddess replied, though it was much slower, almost ruefully.

'Will my sister or anyone else live that long too?'  Sasami asked near tears this time.

'That I cannot tell; so many things could change.'

'I hope they can stay with me… I don't want to be without my family.'

'You will never be without them,' Tsunami told her. 'They will always be in your heart.'

In another area of the Masaki Valley, two combatants stood facing each other warily.  Both were well aware of the danger the other posed, or at least they both thought they did.  For many years Tenchi had trained under his grandfather, and now he stood facing him yet again.

Yosho also had faced his grandson on this same field, but never under these circumstances.  Just yesterday Tenchi had advanced on him with the powers of the light hawk, a power strong enough that only the Jurai Space Trees alone could control.  But not only had his student learned to control them, but he also had used the wings in place of his missing arm and leg.  It was this power that Yosho feared, and respected.

Tenchi and his grandfather were not alone. Ryoko was close by watching, and was totally bored.  It had been like this for at least five minutes though she felt like it had been hours.  Both combatants watched the other, barely even a movement visible though the tension was mounting.  She had never been one to just stand and watch her enemies, but she guessed that the two of them had their reasons.

Finally it happened, one of them twitched and they both moved as one with their bokkens slicing through the air and striking the others weapon. 'Finally,' Ryoko thought as she sighed, 'something to watch.'

With measured movements and counter movement the two of them fought back and forth, and Ryoko had to admit that he had come a long way from when she had first started watching him fight.  Though she suspected the reason for his marked improvement had less to do with her training and more to do with his confidence level.  She smiled though as she thought about it, in a way she and Ayeka were responsible for his abilities now, without them he would still be too scared and nervous to fight back properly.

Being more confident though did not help Tenchi as much as he had hoped it would, his grandfather was still very good and very quick.  It was not long before Tenchi found himself being put solely on the defensive and pushed back.  'Oh no… not that,' he thought as he realized the movement were the beginnings of a kata, one that had always resulted in a lot of pain for him.  But try as he might he could not get the kata his grandfather was using against him reversed.  And then the final swing came as Tenchi's bokken was knocked away from guarding his body.  He blinked as he imagined the swing coming at him, but what truly surprised him was that there was no impact.

Yosho's eyes went wide, as did Ryoko's but for purely opposite reasons.  Having pushed Tenchi back Yosho had moved in to deliver the final blow, only to have it pass harmlessly through his grandson.  That one moment, that one pause from him gave Tenchi the chance and with a quick turn of the bokken Yosho felt the slap of wood against his skull.  Stumbling backwards from the blow Yosho held his head and looked at Tenchi with a slight smile.  "So I see she has taught you some of her tricks."

"You better believe it old man!" Ryoko yelled as she teleported over and gave Tenchi a big hug.  She was completely pleased with herself, and with what had just happened.  She knew now that it was not just a one-time thing, he was able to phase now, just like she could.  'I wonder what else he can do?' she thought, but before she could entertain that she heard Yosho laugh.

"Well then, since you want to use that, let's really see what you can do."  She turned to face Yosho as he spoke, and just as he finished talking he stretched his hand out towards her, and Tenchi.  Before either of them could move the Master Key flew out of Tenchi's pocket and into Yosho's hand.  "Prepare yourself!" Yosho shouted as his battle armor from 700 years ago appeared on him and he advanced on them.

Terror, pure and simple terror coursed though Ryoko as Yosho, the one she remembered so vividly from so long ago appeared and rushed towards her.  'He's gonna lock me up again!' she thought and fell to her knees.  Cringing when she heard the sound of energy weapons colliding she dared not look up, but she had to know… she needed to know what happened.  Trembling she pulled her hands away from her face and looked up.  Relief flooded her as her savior; Tenchi, was now standing between her and Yosho.  In is hand was the sword of the Light Hawk, and not only his sword appeared, but he was in his battle armor as well.

Fear had raced though Tenchi when his grandfather took the master key back and especially when Yosho charged them in his full battle armor.  It wasn't until he saw Ryoko fall to her knees trembling that he knew what he had to do.  He had to fight, though he was unarmed.  His power sensed his need and answered his call so the downward stroke of Yosho's blade was met with his own blade.  This time when he fought his grandfather Tenchi had an edge. His grandfathers' movement, though accelerated by his own power, now seemed sluggish.  And so the two of them fought back and forth, and now using their powers the small training field seemed too small, so the two of them were bouncing of the roof of the nearby shrine, the walls of the shrine and the trees as they took swing after swing at each other.

Staring up in amazement Ryoko watched as they literally bounced off anything they could, be it trees, walls or what ever with their energy swords slicing through the air.  It was hard to believe and even harder to understand, her Tenchi had never been that good, what happened?  She could vividly recall that while they had been locked away in their own little world, Tenchi had made so much progress it was staggering. But it seemed as though he had just hit a new level, as his movements were quicker, more fluid.  It was almost as if he was just floating though the air at times.  A sudden grin appeared on her face, as she understood, 'he's using the Masu's powers…' she thought as he was literally floating in places.

Yosho smiled, and it was not from being happy.  True, he was thrilled that Tenchi's skills had become better and he even knew that the training itself had little to do with it.  For as long as he had tried to train Tenchi, the one thing his student lacked was self-confidence.  That in itself made Yosho happier than he could have thought, but at this moment he was planning to show Tenchi, that the result of overconfidence.  Planning his moves, Yosho had trapped Tenchi into committing a series of moves that even phasing would not save him.  At the precise moment Yosho threw his force field into his student knocking him backwards before lunging with his energy sword.  The two moves had an immediate effect and Tenchi was knocked to the ground with enough force to cause a dust cloud to blossom around him.  Landing hard Yosho leveled his energy sword right to where he knew Tenchi's throat was.  "I suggest you surrender Tenchi," he told his student.

Yosho then felt a light tap on his own neck from behind him and he felt the crackle of an energy weapon behind him.  "Ryoko, you stay out of this," he commanded.

"I'm not Ryoko," the male voice said and for the second time today Yosho's eyes went wide.

"Tenchi?"

"Yes sensei."  As the dust settled Yosho could see that Tenchi was indeed behind him and not on the ground where he should be, and most importantly his grandson was seemingly floating in the air.

"Tenchi!" Ryoko's voice squealed out in delight as she tackled her husband kissing him feverishly.  "That was amazing!  You phased! You flew! And teleported…" she was going to say more but her words were cut as Tenchi finally kissed her back.

"Teleporting?" Yosho said as he watched Tenchi finally succumb to the attention he was receiving.  With a slight cough he got the couples attention.  When the two had finally stopped and looked up at him, he had extinguished his blade and was back in his priests clothing.  "You have done well Tenchi; your teachers have taught you all that you need to know, and more."  He then suppressed a chuckle as he regarded them. "I believe this idea of theirs worked better than they had planned.  You now fight with the powers of the heavens and the abilities of the demons.  Tenchi, your name has meant Heaven and Earth, for above the Heavens and under the Earth has your power become complete."

Both Tenchi as Ryoko looked at him and he had to suppress a laugh at their confused looks.  "I am sure that your mother will explain what that means Ryoko, as she has undoubtedly been watching this."  Yosho then turned and returned to the shrine leaving Tenchi-Ken on the ground beside Tenchi.

Just as Yosho had said, Washu had been watching the duel and at Yosho's parting words she leaned back on her pillow to think about them.  As per her usual routine, Washu was in her child form glancing over many holographic displays that monitored each resident of the home.  She had thought that Tenchi or the others would like to review the recording of the duel so that they would know what to work on later, but with that surprise ending Washu had changed her mind and now she knew that everyone would love to see this.  However it was Yosho's remark about his name that had got her to just sit back and think.

"Interesting…. He now has her powers… but if he can do some of the things she can… then can he do everything?"  Her fingers began to fly across her keyboards as she looked at data strand after data strand; looking for her answer.  She hated to be left in the dark about things; she had to know.

It was because of this that one of the members of the household was able to sneak into the lab.  It was not often that they came in here; in fact one had to strain to think of the last time.  But that was not important, what was important was the target.  Just a few feet ahead sat the small scientist and questions began forming. What is she doing? Does she know that I am here? Wow, what is all that? I wonder what that thing is?  She sure likes to put a lot of lights and buttons on things.  Slowly the form moved up behind the small genius and with as distracted as she was there was no need to sneak. Moving up to directly behind the small scientist, her intruder watched and waited. 

Finally Washu began to move.  Leaning back slightly, Washu lifted her tired arms above her head and stretched.  The figure behind her moved quickly, placing their arms around Washu's midsection and planting a kiss on her neck.

Surprising Washu is not easy, but when she felt the arms and the kiss she could not help the scream that escaped her.  Nor could she help the fact that she jumped up out of her comfortable spot and into the air above her.  Unfortunately she was not calm enough to do anything after that except to fall. 

Upon falling, the small scientist fell into a set of waiting arms though she did not see them.  As soon as she began to fall Washu had closed her eyes out of reflex and as of yet had not reopened them.  "You must not have been paying attention," a male voice said to her before planting a kiss on her cheek.  "I know everyone calls me a dirty old man, but I think I prefer you as a woman my love." 

It was the voice and the words that told her she was going to have to kill him and then bring him back to life.  "Nobuyuki…."

"Yes?" he asked with a grin as he sat her on her feet.

"I am going to kill you now," she said flatly causing his grin to fade.

"W-would you grant a dying man one last request?"

"As long as it's not to spare your life."

He shook his head at her and smiled slowly, "I just want the see you as the woman you are, the woman that opened my heart again."  Washu blushed and in a bat of the eye she was back to her adult form.  "I may be a hentai in saying this, but as a child you a cute, but as a woman… you're…."

She cut him off by planting a kiss on his lips.  It has been way too long since someone had appreciated her for what she was, for how she looked, and for this she considered only hurting him real bad so she could play doctor on him later.

It did not take long for their kiss to dissolve into a passionate fury of kissing and groping before clothes were tossed to the side.  Few, if any discernable words were spoken between the two.  At least until Washu sat up straight.  It had not even occurred to her that she had moved them to a bed.  In her mind she could hear her daughter.  'Later Ryoko,' she tried to tell her.

'But mom,' the pirate responded, 'it's important.'

Washu grumbled as Nobuyuki had yet to pick up on her sudden change, or if he had, then he was trying his hardest to make her forget about it.  'Is anyone dead? Wounded? Kidnapped?' The scientist asked exasperated as he was making it very difficult to concentrate.

'Um, no…. but…'

Not wanting to hear anymore Washu began flooding her link to Ryoko with nude images of Nobuyuki until she felt her daughter close off the link.  Satisfied that she would not be disturbed by the outside world, she turned her attentions to another type of satisfaction.

Trying her best to shrug off the disgusting images that had just bombarded her brain, Ryoko stood up shakily.  Her husband helped her up and at first he was concerned about Ryoko's sudden change in emotions, it seemed to him that she went from nearly jumping him on the field to stand-offish, which was something he was unaccustomed to when it came to his more brash and wild wife.

"Well…." She told him in an effort to get her thoughts back on him and expel the images her mother had just sent to her.  'Remind me to never bother her again,' she told herself and she could hear Ryo-Ohki chiming in mentally saying she would.  Looking around to get her bearing she then had a wonderful idea, "Tenchi dear, think you can port us back to the bedroom?"

"I'm not sure I can."

"Why not?"

He chuckled nervously, "Well, I am not really sure how I did that just a minute ago."

"You don't know?" She screeched at him.

"I just kind of… it just kind of… happened."

Ryoko gave it some thought and then smiled at him. "Well, let's see what we can do about that then," as she spoke her smile suddenly grew a wicked tint.

"Oh boy," the young man said and prepared himself for what ever she was about to do.

"Let's start with something easy," she told him and looked thoughtful for a moment before coming up with the answer, "flying!"

"Flying!  You call that easy!"

"Sure it is, you were doing it just a few minutes ago."

"But I'm not sure how to do it!"

"Tenchi Masaki!" She scolded.  "You can do it, and I will prove it to you."  Ryoko teleported to behind him and wrapping her arms around him she ported again, though this time it was about 500 feet into the air.

"Ryoko!" He shouted in dismay.

"Time to fly lover," she told him and the released her hold on him.

Tenchi was too scared to think at first, she had surprised him by teleporting into the air, and then just dropping him… Desperately he tried to think or act, but nothing was coming to mind and the ground was approaching fast.

At the last possible moment something seemed to click in his mind and just five foot above the ground he changed direction and began flying back up.  "I did it!" He screamed and performed a loop that sent him spiraling out of control and into Ryoko.

Catching him she tried hard not to burst out laughing, "I think you should hold off on that for a while."

"Um… yea…" He nodded and looked around.  From here he could see the entire grounds of the shrine, and the house.  "Wow…"

"It is beautiful up here," she said with a slight sigh, though he knew it was not out of sadness, she seemed to be very happy.  "Look over there," she pointed towards something and looking carefully he could see what she was pointing at.  "There's a little stream that flows down the mountain that pools at the lake by the house."  That was not the only thing she showed him, as for several minutes she pointed out things he never knew existed.

Taking her by the hand, Tenchi flew towards some of the more interesting things she had pointed out.  His reasons for holding her hand were two-fold, as he wanted to make sure he did not get out of control again, and since he had walked hand in hand with her before he wanted to know what it felt like to fly with her.  The two sat by one of the streams for a time just enjoying being together, though Ryoko had wanted to show him this spot before, she had never had a chance to.  But since they both could fly now it would make it easier.  Resting her head on his shoulder, she closed her eyes enjoying the moment.

"Ryoko…."

"Yes?"

"How do I do those other things?  Phasing and Teleporting…"

"Well, to go from one place to the other all you have to do is picture where you want to go." She told him with her head resting on his shoulder.

"Ok, but what if I can't see where I am going?"

She raised her head and looked at him, "If you port blind it could… hurt."

"Hurt?"

"Like that tree," she said pointing to one of the nearby trees.   "If you were to port into it, you could just be in a lot of pain as part of the tree is absorbed into you or if it is too much then you become a part of it."

"Become a part?"  He asked confused, "You mean I could die?"

Sadly, she nodded her head, this was something that she did not want to think about, it was too painful to think of.  Kagato had forced her to port into different things to test to see what happened.  None of the things was enough to kill her, but they all hurt.  Some were worse than others were.  The sudden shudder that went through her alerted her love.

When he felt Ryoko shake like that he pulled her closer wrapping his arm around her.  But that was not enough; he felt he needed to protect her.  Somewhere inside him an unspoken wish to be behind her came to his mind and he began picturing himself behind her with both his arms around her.  It was in that instant that he found himself in that same position.  Smiling he pulled her back against him as his arms surrounded his love and he pulled her back against him and he held her there by the stream whispering the words he knew she longed to hear when her memories came back to haunt her. "I love you, Ryoko Masaki."

To be Continued…

I could always use help with pre-reading the story before the next chapter is posted. If you would like to help please go   
I have the next several chapters posted there for my beta readers to help me on.


	15. Reconciliation

Tenchi Muyo: Choices & Consequences: Reconciliation

I do not own Tenchi Muyo, or any of its characters or ideas, but I wish I did. As for this story, it was written as a sort of what if, while I wait for OVA 3 and GXP to be released stateside. I started on this after wondering, what if he actually did make a choice? For those that have read the "True Tenchi Novels" that detail the backgrounds on the characters, I have not read those. I guess you could say that this is an AU as I have made certain decisions on their backgrounds to fit my story. And if the Character appear OOC, there is a good reason.

I want to send a very BIG THANKS out to Doug Dennis and Ring Princess for helping me with this story's plot. Also I would like to thank Johnny G., Rob F. jhawk46 and Kirk P for all the help with the grammar and spelling. With so many mistakes I needed a hell of a crew to fix them.

From Last time:

"Ryoko…."

"Yes?"

"How do I do those other things? Phasing and Teleporting…"

"Well, to go from one place to the other all you have to do is picture where you want to go." She told him with her head resting on his shoulder.

"Ok, but what if I can't see where I am going?"

She raised her head and looked at him, "If you port blind it could… hurt."

"Hurt?"

"Like that tree," she said pointing to one of the nearby trees. "If you were to port into it, you could just be in a lot of pain as part of the tree is absorbed into you or if it is too much then you become a part of it."

"Become a part?" He asked confused, "You mean I could die?"

Sadly, she nodded her head, this was something that she did not want to think about, it was too painful to think of. Kagato had forced her to port into different things to test to see what happened. None of the things was enough to kill her, but they all hurt. Some were worse than others were. The sudden shudder that went through her alerted her love.

When he felt Ryoko shake like that he pulled her closer wrapping his arm around her. But that was not enough; he felt he needed to protect her. Somewhere inside him an unspoken wish to be behind her came to his mind and he began picturing himself behind her with both his arms around her. It was in that instant that he found himself in that same position. Smiling he pulled her back against him as his arms surrounded his love and he pulled her back against him and he held her there by the stream whispering the words he knew she longed to hear when her memories came back to haunt her. "I love you, Ryoko Masaki."

And now

Tenchi Muyo: Choices & Consequences: Reconciliation

The two lovers sat in relative silence for a while enjoying the calm serenity surrounding them. This is until a painful shriek was heard echoing through the valley. Jumping to their feet and slightly floating in the air, both Ryoko and Tenchi looked towards the house, then at each other. "Ayeka" they said in unison before flying towards the house. When a second scream was heard Tenchi closed his eyes and upon opening them he was just outside their house. Ryoko soon joined him, and just inside the house on the couch they found her. Ayeka had Mihoshi, Sasami and Ryo-Ohki near her. The blonde and the cabbit both were holding their ears while Sasami was trying to calm her sister down. In less than a blink of an eye both Tenchi and Ryoko were on either sides of Ayeka who was holding her stomach.

"It hurts!" she shouted before screaming in pain again.

Ryoko did not have time to hold her ears though she did not care about that. Calling to her mother mentally she told the scientist to have a medical bed ready as she and her husband carried the pregnant Ayeka into the lab.

Washu was not happy about being disturbed, but considering the circumstances she understood. Leaving Nobuyuki she rushed to get things ready and not for the first time in her 20,000 years had she been thankful for being able to phase into her clothes.

"What's going on?"

"Mother Washu! Tenchi yelped when she appeared suddenly.

"Mom, Ayeka's…"

"IT HURTS!" She screamed again forcing them all to cover their ears.

"Now let me take a look," she said as she pulled her hands away from her ears. Several minutes and several screams later, Washu had not only been able to identify the problem, but also eased Ayeka's pain.

"What's wrong with her?" He asked as he held his wife's hand caressing it tenderly as Ayeka seemed to be feeling much better though she was worried.

"Luckily this was only false labor and not the real thing…."

"False labor?" Ayeka blinked even as she said it.

"Yea, if this had been the real thing it would of hurt more, and…"

"HURT MORE!" She screamed and began crying.

"MOM! Why'd you make her cry?" Though Ryoko tried to hide it her nervousness and fear was transferred to Washu through her link to her mom.

For once, Washu looked rather sheepish as she looked at the three of them. "I didn't mean to make her cry," she told them then deciding on changing the subject. "Sometimes this happens when someone over works… what have you been doing today?"

Getting herself under control Ayeka thought about it for a moment. "Well, I helped Sasami clean up the kitchen… and then I cleaned the living room… and the bedroom… and I took over washing the clothes when Mihoshi tried to put everything in one load. And then I…"

"That's enough," Washu told her then she looked at Ryoko.

"Hay I was up at the shrine with the old man and Tenchi, I help out around here," her daughter answered without even being asked the question.

"She's right Miss… I mean Mother Washu." Ayeka added

"Well, until this kid is born you need to be on bed rest, so that means you," she said pointing to her daughter, "need to do more of her chores."

"Not a problem," Ryoko responded flippantly.

"You do chores? Since when?" Washu retorted hotly.

Ryoko wanted to scream; instead, she informed her mother that, "I've been doing them for almost five years!"

"Five years? Oh in there…"

"Yea in there."

"And she's pretty good at them too," Tenchi added.

"Especially since she had to do them for a month on her own." Ayeka laughed then suddenly blushed.

"What? Why?" Their mother Washu asked intrigued. Ryoko suddenly went a bright red, as did Tenchi which only served to make the scientist want to know more. Looking at them a grin slowly appeared on her face. "Tenchi, did the girls make a bet over you?"

"Well… not really over me…"

"I knew it!" Washu crowed. "What was the bet?"

"I'm not telling you!" Her daughter replied.

"Why not… if you lost then I need to know why."

"No you don't! And I wouldn't have lost if the princess here wouldn't have made me…." Even as she said the words all three of them turned very scarlet and Tenchi tried to whistle with his head turned to the side.

Her mom really wanted to know what Ayeka made her do, and more importantly what they had done to Tenchi to make his so red. The poor boy looked like he was about to explode from blushing. But his face still held a strange smile that she had never seen on him. But she recognized that smile… it was the same one Nobuyuki got when she did certain things to him. "Oh you didn't!" She suddenly shouted pointing her fingers at the three.

"Didn't what?" Ryoko asked before she realized her mistake. Washu laughed so hard it looked like she was going to die from laughter which only made Ryoko more nervous. Growling Ryoko address her mom, "Can we go now?"

Barely able to contain her laughter Washu nodded to them, though she tried to tell them many things, not one intelligible word came out and so she sent her mental commands to her daughter as she had begun crying from laughing so hard.

'Little Ryoko?' Her mom asked mentally as her ability to ask verbally was still impossible.

'What mom?'

'Make sure she doesn't work that hard… it might cause more problems.'

'Sure mom.'

"Oh and Ryoko…"

"What?"

"Keep practicing," she told her daughter and burst into laughter so hard that she could not communicate verbally or mentally.

Ayeka blushed and began giggling at her new mothers antics and she knew that life would never be dull with the mothers she has now. Tenchi too tried to keep from laughing, but for him it was much easier since he was the reason for Ryoko's obvious ribbing.

As soon as they stepped outside the lab Ryoko could take no more and she turned towards Ayeka. "All right that's enough! Double or nothing princess."

"Or nothing?" She asked confused.

"I bet I can last longer than you and go farther!"

"Go farther…" Tenchi stuttered out with a strange grin.

Ayeka growled at her playfully causing them both to laugh. "You can be such a tramp."

"Tramp?" Ryoko looked at her old rival feigning innocence. "If I remember right wasn't it you that took Tenchi on the dining room table?"

"You saw us!" Ayeka shrieked then covered her mouth, "I mean we didn't do that…"

"Uh huh, and that was what, about seven, eight months ago now?" Ryoko teased and Ayeka blushed.

A new voice from the door shocked them; "I'll never look at he table the same way again." Both turned to see a slightly blushing Sasami standing in the doorway.

Ayeka just blushed that much redder as Ryoko began to laugh; glad the tables were turned. "It's not funny!" Ayeka shrieked.

Tenchi moved closer to his wife and held her as she stared daggers at Ryoko. "Don't worry Ayeka, I enjoyed that meal," she heard him say softly in her ear while he grinned mischievously.

Sasami looked at him and blinked hard, "I never thought I'd hear you say something like that Tenchi!"

He blushed hard and realized that he had just spoken just slightly too loud. He tried to stutter out a response before finally telling her, "Well, being married to these two, and being inside that thing with them for several years has, um, changed me a little."

"A little?" the younger princess asked.

Grabbing the back of his head, he laughed nervously as both his wives nudged him in the ribs. "Yea… I guess a lot then." He added as he looked back and forth between them. A sudden thought dawned on him and he whispered in Ryoko's ear. "Can you help Sasami with dinner tonight?"

"Why?" She asked slightly hurt.

He nodded to Ayeka and told her, "Remember your promise, if we get to spend time alone then…"

"I know…" she groused before he kissed her tenderly.

"I will make it up to you… I always do."

Ryoko grinned wickedly at him, "You know, now that we're out… we can actually go a mile up…"

"What are you talking about?" His other wife asked him.

"Oh Tenchi and I have our own mile high club…" She was going to say more, but his hand over her mouth stopped her. Once he stopped her from saying anything she realized what she had said and she turned very red.

"Oh my…" Sasami gasped and blushed.

"Um… Sasami…. Lets…. Get dinner ready, ok?" The ex-pirate asked as she shepherded the smaller girl into the kitchen.

"What was that about?" Ayeka asked him warily.

Placing his arms around her he guided his wife out side. "Well Ryoko and I had some time alone for a while, so I…"

"Wanted some time with me?"

He just grinned, "Yes, I told you both that I love you, and while its fun being together…"

"I know, my husband," she told him softly as she kissed him. Breaking the kiss she looked down at her feet and noticed she had left her shoes inside. "Shouldn't I get my shoes?"

"No, I'll carry you." He then picked her up and with a startled yelp from her he rose into the air. "I learned how to fly today," he told her with a sheepish grin. With her holding on to him and his arms holding her close to his body, Tenchi flew off the porch towards the stairs and to a spot that they had not been to in a long time.

Landing outside the small shed by the field Ayeka suddenly understood. The two of them had spent several moments in this shed waiting out a storm shortly after she had arrived on Earth. At the time she was not sure what she felt for him, nor was he sure how he felt towards her. But the time they shared had set things in motion that has culminated in their current marital status. Leaning against her husband just inside the door she could not help placing her hands on his chest just as she had before, even though now he was still wearing his shirt.

"Tenchi…"

"Yes Ayeka?" he asked lifting her chin slightly to look her in the eyes.

"I love you," she cried out and threw her arms around his neck holding him close.

He picked her up and floated over to the bench inside while lowering them to the floor. "I know; I love you too." The two just held each other close as they listened to the oncoming night.

Outside the sky began to darken and the noises of the forest became more acute and quiet before exploding into a symphony of noises. The sound of the wind through the trees providing a calming backdrop to the various insects and other nocturnal animals that made the night their playground.

The two of them sat there for a while before his stomach began to growl causing her to laugh. "I think we need to get back," she giggled as his stomach apparently agreed with her.

"Um, yea…" Using his new found powers, he levitated the two of them up and onto their feet. Stepping outside he closed the door behind her and then scooped her up into his arms again.

"I could get used to this," his wife told him sweetly.

Laughing, he lifted them both into the air and took her home. That night after the Masaki Clan ate and drank their fill; Tenchi did a little showing off of his new powers before he and his two wives returned to their room for the night. Upon entering the room there were aware of one thing, this was not his room.

Granted his things were around the room in various places, but this room was easily twice the size of his old room. "Washu," all three of them said as one then they looked back and forth at each other snickering slightly.

"What you don't like it?" the scientist said as she entered the room too.

"It's very nice Miss… I mean mother Washu," Ayeka told her politely though she had a sinking feeling that this was because of Sasami's teasing this morning.

"Of the three of you I thought that you'd appreciate this the most," Washu told the elder princess who just hid her face in her hands as she blushed.

Ryoko looked between them and knew she was being left out again, "Ok, what's going on here?"

Snickering Washu told them, "I think I'll let his wife explain it."

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Well you see… Last night… and well…"

"Spit it princess!"

Ayeka glared at Ryoko and then said very shyly, "Sasami heard us last night."

"She what!" Ryoko screamed then blushed as well, as she had not been very quiet about things last night.

Washu reveled in the sudden embarrassment of the three, "Since our little conversation this morning Ayeka…" Washu said smoothly while letting Ayeka become even more embarrassed from the memory, "I though that you three would need someplace where you could have your little night time activities without anyone hearing."

To the surprise of them all, Tenchi spoke up next, "Thanks mother Washu." He turned towards her and she noticed a strange look on his face. "B-But I want to ask you something…"

"Oh and that is?" She asked truly surprised that he was taking this better than the two girls were.

"I want you to turn off and remove your cameras and monitors."

"Huh? What? How did you… I mean what cameras?" She tried to play innocent, but she failed and both of the girls picked up on it.

"Damn it MOM! You just want to watch us!"

"Oh Miss Washu, that's not very nice." Ayeka added unconsciously covering herself even though she was fully clothed still.

Shooting Tenchi a scathing glare, Washu folded her arms in front of her as he tried to calm his wives before addressing her again. "Miss Washu," he said in a calm voice, she noticed the little, and mother was missing from it. "I-I appreciate you wanting to help, but please do not dishonor my family by treating them like this."

'Dishonor,' she mentally shouted! 'What the hell?'

"You said you wanted to be a mother to us… and to have Ryoko want to be your daughter…" Tenchi said as Washu nodded not quite seeing where this was going at first but Ryoko picked up on it right away.

"If you want me to call you mom and mean it, then you had better give us our privacy!" Her daughter told her sternly. At first Washu thought it was rather cute how Ryoko and Tenchi were adamant about this.

It was then that Ayeka caught on to what they were meaning so she stepped in as well. "I do not think that I could ever love anyone that spied on me all the time."

"What?" Washu retorted.

"Well," the princess said calmly, "if I would hope that someone I loved would love me enough to respect my privacy." Tenchi looked to his wife with a thankful smile; he had been thinking along the same lines but trying to say it was another thing entirely.

Understanding came over the scientist and she looked between the three of them only to see that that all had the same look. "Fine," she huffed. Bringing up her keyboard she removed all the listening devices and cameras. "There, it's done." She was not too happy with turning everything off, as most of the devices were used to monitor the health and well being of them, but to make them happy she turned those off as well.

"You mean you did it? You turned the all off, for me?" Ryoko asked her mom to which she just nodded yes. "Thank you!" Ryoko crowed and gave her mom a big hug.

'If that was all it took to get her to hug me I would have done this a long time ago,' Washu said to herself as she returned the hug. Tenchi and Ayeka just held hands as they watched mother and daughter hug.

Later that night, as the rest of residents of the valley slept. Tenchi and Ryoko did just as he had suggested earlier, and with the aid of his new abilities the two of them created their own mile high club, though they did not need the plane. Washu watched them for as long as she thought she should, then placing a shield around them she made sure that no one else could see them, before she returned to her bed, and the one that waited on her there.

Several times she had stopped to think about it, and each time it felt rather surreal when it came to the way things had changed around the house. Ayeka and Ryoko were getting along, at least for the most part. And when they did fight it was not over Tenchi per say. However, she shuddered at the thought of them two sharing a bed, even if Tenchi was in it too, as she would have hated to be him. Yet he did it every night, and not just since they returned from their training. But he had spent five years with only them in her time chamber. Even though all three of them thanked her for the time together, she still said a silent apology to them for it every time she thought about it. When she turned to go into her room a smile appeared on her face as she remembered how she and Nobuyuki had started sharing a room.

As the night passed Tsunami watched over her family. She did not want to wake up Sasami, but she decided to awaken the girls' consciousness. "Sasami?"

"Yes?' She responded as an image of her appeared before the goddess even as her body slept in the house.

"I wanted to know what you thought, about Tenchi, and Ryoko and Ayeka."

"Well, we were connected I thought, so can't you tell?"

The goddess smiled. "In a sense, but I want to hear it in your own words."

"Well, I'm happy for them. Sister has finally got what she always wanted."

"Even though it was not how she wanted it?" Tsunami asked.

Sasami smiled, "I think she always wanted Ryoko around too, even though they fight. She would be sad if Ryoko left."

"You may be right," the goddess laughed as she thought about it. "Are you happy as well?" Sasami just looked down and did not say a word. "I see. What do you want?" Tsunami knew already but she asked anyway to get the princess to say more.

"I want… I want to… I wish someone like him would love me."

"That can be a very dangerous thing, are you sure you want that?" Tsunami asked gently.

"I… I think so." Sasami told her. "Tenchi's so nice, and kind and I want someone like him too."

To be Continued…

I could always use help with pre-reading the story before the next chapter is posted. If you would like to help please go to http:groups.  
I have the next several chapters posted there for my beta readers to help me on.


	16. Epilogue

Tenchi Muyo: Choices & Consequences: Epilogue

I do not own Tenchi Muyo, or any of its characters or ideas, but I wish I did. As for this story, it was written as a sort of what if, while I wait for the OVA 3 (to be released in 2003) and GXP to be releases stateside. To my knowledge, it's only in Japanese at the moment and not even subtitled yet. I started on this after wondering, what if he actually did make a choice?

AN: It has been pointed out to me that the characters are a bit OOC, well unfortunately that was the only way I could think of to get Ayeka & Ryoko to actually share Tenchi. So I bent a few rules and I did not hold 100 true to the series. I'm sorry that I didn't keep it true if it annoyed anyone. However, I wanted to see if I could bring the three of them together.

I want to send a very BIG THANKS out to Doug and Ring Princess for helping me with this story's plot and Robert and Johnny for helping with my many spelling and grammar errors.

From Last time:

Later that night, as the rest of residents of the valley slept. Tenchi and Ryoko did just as he had suggested earlier, and with the aid of his new abilities the two of them created their own mile high club, though they did not need the plane. Washu watched them for as long as she thought she should, then placing a shield around them she made sure that no one else could see them, before she returned to her bed, and the one that waited on her there.

Several times she had stopped to think about it, and each time it felt rather surreal when it came to the way things had changed around the house. Ayeka and Ryoko were getting along, at least for the most part. And when they did fight it was not over Tenchi per say. However she shuddered at the thought of them two sharing a bed, even if Tenchi were in it two, as she would have hated to be him. Jet he did it every night, and not just since they returned from their training. But he had spent five years with only them in her time chamber. Even though all three of them thanked her for the time together, she still said a silent apology to them for it. When she turned to go into her room a smile appeared on her face as she remembered how she and Nobuyuki had started sharing a room.

And now

Tenchi Muyo: Choices & Consequences: Epilogue

As usual, time passes in the Masaki valley, sometimes it passes by at a snails pace, and others it passes so fast it is hard to keep up. Already Tenchi thought that he had somehow got stuck in Washu's time compressor again as time seemed to fly by, yet things seemed to barely be moving. Before he had even realized it the months had passed and the time had come and gone for his grandfather to leave the earth.

On the day that he left there were tears and sadness, but now things seemed to be back to what could be considered normal. Tenchi sat on the couch in the living room attempting to watch a little TV. Though it was something he rarely ever had time to do, he tried anyway. However his mind was not on the TV as it could have been displaying static and he would not have known the difference. He was supposed to be watching the news, waiting for a special broadcast, but in his current state of mind he very easily could have missed it.

"Has it come on yet?" A voice from behind him asked. Even without looking he knew that voice.

"Not yet," he told his wife, though he hoped she did not realize he was not sure.

"Good, then would you…" Ayeka said as she moved around to in front of him and placed something in his lap.

Even as she sat it in his lap a smile appeared on his face. "Of course I will." He said as she handed him what looked like a bundle of blankets wrapped around something.

"Thank you, I have to go help Sasami with Lunch." She told him as she left, but not before placing several items on the table. One of which was a bottle with a white substance in it.

Pulling back the top layer of the blankets he exposed the face of his first child, a baby girl that they had named Kiyone after his mother. Even looking at her now it seemed strange that it has only been a few months since the girl was born. Her birth had come just a month before Yosho had to leave for Jurai, and Tenchi was glad that his grandfather was there to witness her birth. Before he left for Jurai, Nobuyuki had got Washu to take several pictures of Yosho, himself, Tenchi and the new baby.

Hearing a noise from his daughter he cooed at her as she opened her eyes and yawned at him. "Hello there. Let's see what mommy has brought for you," he told her as he reached forward and picked up the bottle. "Looks like it's almost time for lunch, are you hungry?" It was amazing to him in times like this that he really was a father, and even more amazing was Ayeka. Memories of Ayeka trying to take care of Taro filled his mind as he chuckled. But now she seemed to take to being a mother almost naturally. Placing the nipple of the bottle to his daughter's lips she began to suckle on it. "Is that good?" He asked her only to have her begin to cry a moment later. "Oh no… don't cry!"

Holding her close he used his arm to hold her in place while he opened the top. "No wonder you didn't like it." Tenchi began chuckling at first then began to laugh for in the bottle was only the formula powder. He had not seen anyone make this mistake since Ryoko tried to feed the formula to Taro like this.

He was about to say something when a voice shouted out from behind him, "NO WAY! There is no way I am going to let you do that!" He recognized the voice of his other wife immediately and he turned to see her standing at the door to Washu's lab yelling into it.

"But it's just a little test!" Washu retorted as she exited the lab.

"No, no more! Those two tests this morning were more than enough for me!"

"But I had to find out what was making you sick, I designed you so that you'd never get sick!"

"So I threw up a few times big deal!" Ryoko huffed as she sat in the air hovering right beside Tenchi.

"But…"

"No Butts!"

"Ryoko," Tenchi began. She looked down at him as she was sitting even with his shoulders. "I would like to know what made you sick too."

"See! Even Tenchi agrees with me!" Washu crowed happily as she though the argument was over.

"Mother Washu," he said again, "All I said was I wanted to know. If you've already run two tests on her don't you know yet?"

Washu colored slightly and he thought she was blushing. "Well, you see, I have my computer examining the results right now for the third time, each time they keep coming up with the result that her body is fine.

"Then what's wrong?" Ryoko demanded hotly.

"That's why I want to run this last test! It will tell me everything." She pleaded, but Ryoko would not budge. Finally she added on one last thing. "I was hoping to keep a part of this test as a surprise, but…" she paused as Ryoko looked at her. "Do you remember when I told you that you could not get pregnant the normal way?" Ryoko nodded her head as Tenchi turned sideways on the couch to see things better.

"This test will also allow me to find the best way to help you…"

"To become a mother too!" Ryoko shouted. Holding her ears Washu nodded. Ryoko was still pleasantly shocked when she felt Tenchi's hand grab hers. Looking into his face, into his eyes she saw that he also wanted to know this.

"Miss Ryoko," Ayeka said from the doorway. "If that is possible then why not try it?" She and Ryoko had spent many nights in the onsen talking about Ryoko being a mother after they had discovered that Ayeka had been pregnant. Since finding out that Ryoko could not though their talks had been strained and both felt uneasy about it. Ayeka wanted Ryoko's support, but she felt that she was throwing the fact that Ryoko could not conceive in her face for a long time. But now this might help them get back to their normal conversations in the onsen.

Ryoko too had been thinking along those same lines and turning her eyes back to Washu she told her, "Ok, let's do this." Tenchi pulled her down into a kiss before the two went into the lab again.

Once they were gone Sasami came into the room. "Is it on yet?"

"Huh? Oh! Um…" Tenchi looked back at the TV.

The announcer was saying something that none of them caught but his next words were what they had been eagerly anticipating. "The entire Galactic Community has shown up to be in attendance for Yosho Jurai, the long lost prince of Jurai that set off 700 years ago to defeat the Space Pirate Ryoko. Every race and culture has sent dignitaries to show their support. The Galaxy Police are hard pressed to hold back the supporters…" he continued to ramble on about the different races and people in attendance though the three watching the TV were only worried about Yosho and Mihoshi.

"You don't think they're letting her fly do you?" Tenchi asked worriedly.

"No, brother made sure that since Mihoshi was called to be a part for this that she would be riding on one of the larger cruisers. There is less chance of her causing trouble that way." All of them nodded in agreement.

"Here it comes now, the tree ship Funaho; named after his mother Funaho Jurai. In just a moment the ship will touch down on the surface and the Prince will emerge."

After a few moments the large tree ship touched down and not for the first time did Ayeka think that Washu's help in re-growing the space tree might have been excessive. With the ship coming to a stop the crowed pushed forward to get a glimpse of the returning prince. A light appeared in the air and drifted down before solidifying into a form. Yosho's feet touched the surface of the planet he had been born on and the same place he had last touched 700 years ago. On either side of the prince people were lined up to see him, and ahead of him was a raised dais where his father and mothers stood waiting for him.

He approached them with confident strides though no one knew that inside he was scared. He stopped just a little ways in front of them and greeted them all, first by the formal names and titles, then as his parents before telling them, "My mission is complete, I have returned."

"And what mission was that my son?" The emperor asked out of formality.

"As requested, I have chased down the Space Pirate Ryoko and made sure that she never again poses any trouble to Jurai or any other system."

"Then she is dead?" Funaho asked though she knew quite the opposite.

"The Space Pirate Ryoko is no more." He said with a bow.

"And what of my daughters?" Asked Queen Misaki.

"Yes, Princess Ayeka left in an effort to find you," said the Emperor. He knew that his son and his daughters had been on Earth, but he did not want to divulge that information.

"The Princess Ayeka has found her own place in the universe. Her own quest was not to find me, but to find her own happiness. As such she has found it and has started her own family."

Several gasps were heard and the Emperor ground his teeth in annoyance, he knew what this meant, that Ayeka had wed that earth boy Tenchi.

"And my other daughter, Sasami?" The queen asked.

"She has chosen to stay with her sister for the time being, but she will surely return to Jurai."

In the Masaki house Tenchi was very nervous watching this and he knew that the Emperor was not going to be very kind the next time he shows up. Ayeka having sat next to him while holding their daughter seemed to sense her husband's nervousness. "Don't worry, we will just let him see his granddaughter and he won't be angry anymore."

"I hope you're right," Tenchi told her though he suddenly asked Sasami, "What did grandfather… I mean Yosho mean by that?"

"Oh… well… since Tsunami is a part of me and she is a part of Jurai I will have to return there some time."

Tenchi nodded and recalled when Tsunami had asked him to be strong for Sasami, to show her it would be fine. "I see, when you go… don't stay away for too long."

In an effort to stop her husbands seething the Lady Funaho, Queen Funaho to most, spoke up. "Jurai has not been the only one waiting for you to return." As she spoke she gestured to someone that had been standing off to the side of the dais.

"Who's that?" Both Tenchi and Ryoko asked as they pointed to the woman ant the girl that stepped forward to beside the queens. Ayeka though looked at the TV with her mouth agape.

"And now Prince Yosho," Funaho announced, "Your wife Airi Magma, and your daughter Minaho, they have been waiting for you to return to them."

"HIS WIFE!" Tenchi and Ryoko screamed.

"HIS CHILD!" Ayeka screamed causing everyone else to hold their ears.

Airi approached him, Yosho tried to not let the sweat show or to show how nervous he was. "My husband," she told him sweetly before she leaned in and kissed him. It was a chaste kiss, as they were being broadcast all over the known parts of the universe.

Ayeka fell out of her seat and had it not been for Tenchi's quickness, then Ayeka would have hit the floor. From the laboratory door Ryoko was able to get her wits about her long enough to move closer to her husband and co-wife. She had just stepped out of the door when she heard the announcement that Yosho had been married, but now she had other news to give.

Tenchi placed Ayeka on the couch after handing his daughter over to Sasami; he then looked back towards the TV to see his grandfather giving his daughter, a girl he had not seen for many centuries, a hug. "This is very strange." Ryoko chuckled at it, though she was trying to find a way to tell him the news. Before she could think of the words Tenchi looked from the TV, to Ayeka then back to the lab. Upon seeing her he smiled and asked, "You're out! How'd things go?"

"Oh, well… Washu thinks she found a way…"

"A way for us to…" She nodded her head and he smiled hugely, "That's wonderful!" Tenchi and Ryoko hugged for several moments before Ayeka began to return to herself.

Sasami sitting, with the baby in her arms, beside her sister spoke up, "When can Washu start?"

"Well that is the interesting part," Washu said as she exited the lab.

"What do you mean?" Ayeka asked as she sat up.

Ryoko looked down before announcing, "I'm already pregnant!"

"YOU ARE?" The others yelled!

"I find it pretty interesting myself," Washu told them. "You see when Tenchi assimilated with the Masu he became more compatible with our little Ryoko here." Tapping a podium that suddenly appeared before her with a baton that had similarly appeared, Washu instructed them on the finer points. "You see Tenchi was completely human with Jurian blood, but Ryoko was partially Masu though mostly like myself." A screen appeared showing that their compatibility was very low. "And now after the Masu," the image changed, "Tenchi is now partially Masu now as well which has brought up their compatibility. That does not mean that every time she will conceive, but she now has a stronger chance of it."

Both Tenchi and Ryoko were a very bright red as Washu talked about their love life like this, though Sasami laughed quietly at them. Ayeka had one other question though, and she was afraid of the answer. "Miss Washu…"

"Yes Lady Ayeka?"

"What about…" she was hesitant to say what was on her mind but Tenchi seemed to sense what she was thinking. His heart was suddenly torn between this joyous news and the idea that he would not have another child with her.

"That is the good part!" Washu crowed just as Tenchi and Ayeka seemed to be slipping into sadness.

"What do you mean?" Ayeka asked hopefully.

"Well his compatibility has dropped enough to be able to have a child with Ryoko, but his compatibility has not dropped enough to make it impossible to have another child with you Lady Ayeka, however…"

"However?" He asked.

"However, it will take longer for her to conceive so you will just have to try harder!" Washu began to laugh as Tenchi became such a bright red he felt he would burst. But however much he blushed; Ayeka was blushing still harder. Unfazed by her mother's antics Ryoko grabbed both Tenchi and Ayeka in a big hug as Sasami watched them all happily.

That night after he had put his daughter to bed, Ryoko took it upon herself to start practicing with her husband, for when they were ready to try again. And though Ayeka told her it does little good to start practicing now, she did not complain when it came time for her and him to practice as well.

On another planet, two that had been separated, but now reunited stood in the princes' bedroom. As she approached him the first thing she did was slap her husband, hard. At his look she asked him, "Why, Why did you stay away from me for so long? We heard nothing, nothing at all for 700 years!"

"I am sorry," he told her. "I could not return."

"Why?"

"You may think I am weak, but I was scared. I was scared of becoming the Emperor, of what might happen."

"But anything could happen; to run away from what might have been is foolish!"

"I know," He stepped forward towards her. "And I will not run away again."

"Good, your daughter has missed you, and I hope that she will not be your only daughter." She smiled at him and with a slight grin before he placed a kiss on her lips.

On Earth Washu sat in the living room, watching several of her screens, one showing Yosho's punishment and the others showing the rest of her family, at least until their practicing began. It was not long before Nobuyuki came in from working late again.

"Oh you're up."

"I wanted to wait up for you, we have some big news."

"Big news?"

"Yes, it seems that you are going to be a grandfather again."

His face lit up with joy and despite his age he danced about the room before she stopped him. "You keep that up and you will wake the baby."

"Huh, oh!" He grinned sheepishly before letting out a large yawn.

"Why do you do this to yourself?"

"Do what?"

"You are working yourself to death. If you keep this up no matter what I do to you are going to put yourself in an early grave!" Though she tried to make light of it, he could tell that she was troubled by it

Pulling the scientist close to him, Nobuyuki held her close, "I do this because I have to; no one else can pay for our home here."

Nodding her head against him she suddenly got a wonderful idea. "Why didn't I think of this before?"

"What? Think of what?"

"Well, we can't stay on Earth forever. Since Tenchi has the Masu in him he will live for as long as Ryoko has and then some, and Ayeka being Juraian will live for a long time as well."

"Oh I see…" He said somewhat saddened.

She at first missed his comment, as she continued. "Well, since I was at the university, my inventions brought in more money than I could spend, and I could spend a lot! So I have enough stored back to buy my own planet!"

"Your own planet?" To say the least he was shocked.

"Yes, but I won't do that, that'd get too much attention. But if we were to move to a lesser known planet then I could support the family off what I have saved up and I could even start teaching again at the Academy!"

Nobuyuki was silent for a while as he thought about it. It did sound good to him, and it would save him from having to work a lot, but he was not sure about leaving the Earth.

"See if we pick a place where Jurai has little influence and no one really cares about the name Masaki or Habuki. Then Tenchi and the girls won't have to worry about raising their children there. No one will come after Ryoko the Space Pirate, or for that matter Ayeka! We can just live as a family." Washu had gotten herself so worked up that she barely remembered that anyone was in the room with her, at least until she heard him sigh.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm not sure if I'm ready to leave…"

"We don't have to leave right away, and we can keep a doorway open to here."

"I'd like that," he told her. "I'd like that a lot."

And so it was, that after three more months on Earth, Tenchi Masaki, his 2 wives and his child, along with Sasami, Nobuyuki and Washu relocated their family to a small little known planet. And though it was little, it was closer to the Science Academy… a place where Washu could teach to take care of everyone without Nobuyuki having to work long hard hours. Even though after about 5000 years her bank accounts have more than tripled, she still felt the need to do something.

Just one month after moving in, Washu and Nobuyuki were again discussing their family. "Oh Nuby…" Washu said sweetly… "How do you feel about being a father again?"

The End…


End file.
